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AS IT HAPPENED

As it happened: PGA Championship, final round

As Shane Lowry bids to win his first career Major, we’re following all the final round action from Bellerive Country Club.

Full leaderboard available here

Good evening and welcome along to our live coverage of the final round of the year’s fourth and final Major, the PGA Championship from Bellerive.

Two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka holds a two-shot lead from a stacked chasing pack, which includes Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Tiger Woods and Shane Lowry.

Six other Major winners are lurking within four strokes of overnight leader Koepka, with Lowry sitting on eight-under par after a stunning second-round 64 was followed up by a solid 69 yesterday.

The Offaly man is right in the mix as he bids to not only win his maiden Major title but put a difficult period behind him having failed to record a single top-10 finish this season.

He’ll need to go low this evening to have any chance of reeling Koepka in, who has his sights on a third Major title in the space of 14 months.

Stick with us throughout the course of the next five hours as the race for the Wanamaker trophy heats up.

Shane Lowry is on the tee-box about to get his final round underway. His brother, Alan, has been on his bag in recent weeks while their father, Brendan, is outside the ropes at Bellerive to lend his support.

Here’s a check on the current leaderboard, with Koepka and Scott due on the tee at 7.55pm Irish time.

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It looks like Tiger Woods means business.

The 14-time Major winner is in the pack four strokes adrift, and gets his final round underway in just over 10 minutes.

Birdie for Lowry! After splitting the fairway with a three-wood off the tee, Lowry shows no sign of early nerves by finding the heart of the green with a nicely-judged wedge.

He leaves himself with a 20-foot birdie poor and rattles it in to move to nine-under par and within three of the lead. What a start from the Offaly man!

GOLF: AUG 11 PGA - PGA Championship Keith Gillett Keith Gillett

It has been another disappointing week for Rory McIlroy and it just hasn’t happened for him again out there today, with the Northern Irishman sitting on three-under par through 14 holes of his final round. Pádraig Harrington failed to make the halfway cut after carding rounds of 71 and 70 on Thursday and Friday.

Tiger receives a huge ovation on the first, but tugs his tee-shot slightly and he finds the fairway bunker down the right side.

Further ahead on the second, Justin Thomas — who, like Lowry birdied the opening hole — plays another exquisite wedge shot and he’s given himself another good look at a birdie.

The host broadcasters aren’t really interested in showing us how Lowry is getting on, but his ball appears to be on the green in two. Maybe if he sinks this they might start giving him some coverage…

Tiger! Woods found the fairway bunker off the tee but nails his second to within six feet to give himself an early birdie chance…but he misses it on the left side.

Meanwhile, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton is tearing it up out there, embarking on a birdie blitz and he’s now sitting on eight-under par having emerged from the chasing pack.

Lowry has enjoyed a very solid start to his final round and after that birdie on the first, has walked in pars at the second and the par-three third to sit on nine-under par.

Ahead on the fourth, the 31-year-old cracks another down the middle of the fairway and looks to have a tricky approach of close to 230 yards.

Tiger, meanwhile, is already into his stride and he plays an audacious wedge over the water and into the second. He has a five-foot putt for birdie to join Lowry in a tie for third…and he drains it!

Here we go! Tiger follows up that birdie by stitching one at the par-three third. It pitches eight inches from the hole and the 14-time Major winner has a straightforward birdie putt to move to 10-under par.

Could it actually happen? Tiger makes no mistake to move within two of the lead and he appears to be in the zone. He then launches a booming drive down the fourth, but finds the bunker.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has confidently drained a birdie effort on the 17th to get to three-under for the tournament and one-under for the day.

Up and running! As the chasing pack look to make some early inroads, Brooks Koepka responds with a birdie on the opening hole to restore a three-shot advantage — but he could be in trouble off the tee at two, pulling his drive towards the water.

Clutch! Lowry leaves himself with work to do on the fourth, but saves his par with two solid strokes of the putter to remain on nine-under par. On the next, he finds the rough on the left-hand side of the fifth.

PGA Championship Golf Brynn Anderson Brynn Anderson

Bogey! After finding the rough off the tee, Lowry’s second on the fifth comes out a little heavy and it nestles in the greenside bunker, leaving him with a difficult up and down.

He plays his third nicely from the bunker but it runs past the hole and his par attempt back down the hill from just under 10 feet veers off right.

Lowry drops back down to eight-under and is now five off the lead.

Clutch! This is vintage Tiger. He spins a sublime wedge into a couple of feet after his second from the bunker came up short, and then drains the par putt to stay on 10-under par.

That was a fantastic save from Tiger but another errant tee-shot leaves him with plenty of work to do, while Koepka rolls in a par putt on the second with minimal fuss.

On the 18th, McIlroy has finished his round and tournament with a bogey as he signs for a 70 and a total of two-under par.

PGA Championship Golf It's just not happening for Rory at the moment. Jeff Roberson Jeff Roberson

Shane Lowry is having to dig really deep at the minute. His tee-shot at the par-three sixth goes through the green and into the bunker, leaving him with another testing up and down for par — but he makes no mistake, holing out from nine feet to avoid back-to-back bogeys.

Scramble! Again, Tiger does brilliantly to get up and down and save par at the fifth after his wayward tee-shot left him in all sorts of trouble. He somehow found a route out of the trees, and although his second came up short on the right, chipped on and drained the clutch putt for an eventful four.

Justin Thomas makes a move!

The American holds second place on his own after rolling in a delightful birdie on the seventh after a brilliant approach. He’s sitting on 11-under par, and two behind our leader Koepka.

Dropped shot! Well, well, well. Things just got very interesting as Koepka three putts the fourth and he moves back to 12-under par.

PGA: PGA Championship - Final Round SIPA USA / PA Images SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images

Movement at the top! It’s all happening. Woods drops his first shot since the fifth on Saturday as he pushes his par attempt right at the par-three sixth and drops back to nine-under.

Koepka, meanwhile, is struggling a bit and after finding the thick stuff on the fifth, cards his second consecutive bogey and we have a tie for the lead all of a sudden.

In the clubhouse! Hatton and Cabrera Bello complete their rounds with fours to sign for a pair of 64s. They are both sitting on nine-under par and in a tie for third.

So, we’ve got a tie for the lead as Koepka leaves his par putt short to drop back to one-over for the day.

It means Shane Lowry is now only three off the lead as he nears the turn, with the Offaly native has two putts for a par on the eighth.

A rare sighting of Shane Lowry.

PGA Championship Golf Brynn Anderson Brynn Anderson

Woods is really scrambling out there and he sinks another clutch par putt to remain one off the lead. Which way do you see it going now?


Poll Results:

Shane Lowry (50)
Tiger Woods (37)
Brooks Koepka (35)
Justin Thomas (26)
Jason Day (6)
Rafa Cabrera Bello (3)
Other (3)
Tyrrell Hatton (1)

Boom! Lowry is in great position on the ninth fairway and he takes full advantage, arrowing an iron in just left of the pin and he has a gimme putt for birdie, which he duly sinks! Back to nine-under and within striking distance again.

Three-putt! As Lowry stitches his second on the ninth, Thomas has an absolute nightmare on the green, as he sees his birdie attempt slide by and he then fails to hole out for par back up the hill. That came out of nowhere and hands Koepka the advantage again.

Fore! Tiger is all over the place off the tee and again he goes way left on the par-five eighth — but he is showing all his enduring class by scrambling and recovering brilliantly to give himself another unlikely chance of birdie.

PGA: PGA Championship - Final Round SIPA USA / PA Images SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images

Birdie blitz! Tiger Woods has yet to hit a fairway during this final round but he is now two-under through eight. He plays the bunker shot brilliantly and taps in the birdie putt to move within one of the lead.

Adam Scott has recovered from a slow start, meanwhile, and knocks in a sweet birdie on the seventh to move to 10-under, while Koepka is back on track with a birdie of his own on that same hole.

Bogey for Lowry! Frustration for the Irishman as he fails to hold on for par at the 10th, and he drops back to level par for the day having birdied the last.

Another hole, another missed fairway for Tiger. He pulls his tee-shot on the ninth, ends up on a path, but no bother as he fires his second from the trees into the heart of the green. Incredible stuff from the four-time champion.

That dropped shot is a big blow for Lowry, particularly after he had worked his way back into the mix with a brilliant birdie on nine. With the way things are going, he’s going to need to find birdies and find them fast down the home straight if he is to stand any chance.

By the way, here’s Tiger casually finding the ninth green from a path.

Stop it, Tiger! A huge roar from the ninth can only mean one thing…and Tiger is within one! He gets a break off the tee, arrows his second into 12-feet and rolls the birdie putt up the hill and into the cup, reading the right-to-left swing perfectly. He’s on a roll.

We can’t keep up. Tiger greets that birdie with a big fist pump and the gallery on the 10th tee let out a huge roar when he dissects the fairway with a booming drive.

Thomas, meanwhile, somehow birdies the 11th after hitting a spectator with a wayward drive. He plays a brilliant shot out of the trees and rolls in the birdie putt with aplomb.

Not to be outdone, Koepka follows suit to get to 13-under par and then Adam Scott and Thomas Pieters collect further shots of their own on the back nine as the race for the Wanamaker trophy heats up. It’s absorbing stuff.

Ice cool! Koepka hasn’t been at his best at times today but has started to hit his straps as he nears the turn, with the back-to-back US Open champion showing all his composure to record a birdie three on the ninth.

He found the sand with his tee shot but plays it out of the bunker brilliantly, landing it within six feet with the aid of some backspin. The putt drops in the front door, and was never in doubt.

In the mix! Thomas Pieters is leading the European charge and he’s on a roll. The Belgian has just carded his third consecutive birdie to move to 12-under thanks to a stunning four iron approach from all of 250 yards out.

He’s now just two shots off the lead with two holes of his round remaining.

Birdie for Lowry! We’re not really seeing a whole lot of Lowry now as his challenge fades, but the Clara man has just sunk a 25-foot birdie putt on the 12th to get back to nine-under par. He’s in a tie for seventh.

Back-to-back! Lowry’s putter is on fire as he rattles in a long-range birdie on the par-three 13th and he’s suddenly on 10-under and four shots adrift. Brilliant putt from Shane.

How did that not go in!? Tiger tugs his second into the short par-four 11th and although it stays on the back portion of the green, it’s a tricky birdie putt from close to 30 foot.

He reads it brilliantly, though, and its tracking towards the middle of the cup but somehow comes up agonisingly short. One more revolution would have done it, but Tiger has to settle for a par.

That’s not what Thomas Pieters needed. He has just rattled off three consecutive birdies and playing some of the best golf of the week, but finds the water on the 17th hole and is forced to take a penalty drop. That has derailed his stunning round.

Meanwhile, it’s Adam Scott’s turn to do a bit of fist clenching as he drains a 20-footer for his third birdie in four holes. The Aussie is back to within two and it’s all to play for!

Right, this is how things stand — it’s all very tight atop the leaderboard.

Shane Lowry is four off the lead.

PGA: PGA Championship - Final Round SIPA USA / PA Images SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images

Niall Kelly here, taking over from Ryan Bailey to see you home on what is a fascinating PGA Sunday.

The first sad news to bring you is that Thomas Pieters, who was lighting up Bellerive, has taken a double-bogey seven at the 17th and drops back to 10-under par. He must have been thinking that a birdie there would put him right in the mix as the clubhouse leader but instead, it looks like his challenge is over.

After dropping a shot on 14, Justin Thomas is in the bunker on 15, and could be in trouble of dropping four shots behind Koepka.

BIRDIE FOR TIGER AT 12! There was a long delay while the course team repaired the cup — damaged when Gary Woodland nearly slam dunked one from distance — but Woods holds his nerve and rolls in a short birdie. He moves to -12, two off the lead.

Aaaaaand Tiger dings it to about 10 feet on the par-three 13th. Wow wow.

Justin Thomas saves his par at 15! He celebrates it like a birdie — from the position that he was in, it’s every bit as valuable. He stays at -11, three behind Koepka.

OH MY DAYS. TIGER. ROLLS IT IN AT 13!

It’s 10.30pm and here is your leaderboard — Tiger Woods is one shot off the lead at the PGA Championship!

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Adam Scott is right there, hanging tough: He birdies the 12th to move to -13 and join Tiger a shot behind Koepka.

Koepka makes par on 12. So that’s it — the lead is one.

Scott and Koepka both throw absolute darts into the par-three 13th. Two very makeable birdie looks coming up…

Trouble for Lowry - He found himself in an absolute stinker of a lie after his tee shot went long on 16, seemingly trapped in around the back of one of the spectator stands. He spends a long time discussing it with the rules officials while Justin Thomas stands, twiddling his thumbs, growing increasingly impatient. There’s not much Lowry can do when he does play and it looks like a dropped shot here…

CO-LEADERS! Scott makes his birdie… but Koepka can’t follow him in. All tied at the top on -14.

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BOGEY FOR TIGER! How unlucky is this?! Woods does everything right but his ball rolls around the inside of the cup and stays out. He drops to -12, two back with four to play.

TIGER TIGER TIGER! He stands over a 164 yarder in the heart of the 15th fairway and he puts it to… 18 inches maybe?! Un-be-lievable.

Par for Scott on 14... and Koepka stands over a birdie putt from just off the green to re-take the outright lead… no. Just runs by. They both stay at -14.

And there’s a roar on the 15th green as Tiger taps that one in for birdie – he moves back to within a shot of the leaders.

And then there were three…

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Right from Scott off the tee - Not quite the tee shot he needed at 15; we’ll have to wait and see what the lie is like. Koepka goes a little bit right as well but he’s on the fairway.

Long birdie effort from Tiger at 16… it tails off, short and left. He remains one shot behind Scott and Koepka with two to play.

Waaaaaay right by Tiger off the tee at 17. He’s in Thomas Pieters country out there and if it’s not in the water, it’s more than likely unplayable. Is this where the story ends?

BIRDIE FOR KOEPKA! Oh that’s big from Brooks – he gets the line spot on and retakes the lead with three holes to play.

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Tiger’s ball is plugged inside the hazard line, but playable. He digs it out on to the fairway — there wasn’t much else he could do — but at least he can have a go at the green from there.

Magic from Koepka at 16 - beautiful tee shot and he’ll have a good birdie chance. Make that, and it could be goodnight Bellerive.

Tiger goes for it… and ends up in the greenside bunker. Not the easiest up and down from there, and nothing else will do.

Scott goes right off with his tee shot on the par-three 16th. In the last few minutes, everything’s been coming up Koepka.

Scott! So close to chipping in for birdie at 16. He’ll make his three there.

But Koepka makes birdie - he leads by two!

Tiger makes his par on 17 but here we are, with two to play, and it’s Koepka’s to lose:

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TIGER FINISHES IN STYLE! YES, HE DOES!

Woods rolls in a big, big putt on the 18th for his eighth and final birdie of a day and a stunning Sunday 64. If there was any lingering doubt for any reason, let there be none: he is back.

Koepka stands over a birdie putt at 17 for a three-shot lead, and it trickles by.

Now, Adam Scott has a chance to make birdie himself and cut Koepka’s lead to a single shot on the 18th tee box…

MISSED IT! Koepka takes a two-shot lead down the last and has one hand on the Wanamaker and his second Major of the season.

Adam Scott has to chip in from off the green to give himself a chance, and it comes up short. Once he putts out, Brooks Koepka will surely do the necessary and be crowned the 2018 PGA Championship winner.

BROOKS KOEPKA WINS THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP!

Sensational stuff by Koepka who never lost his nerve when Tiger and the rest were lining up behind him to take their shot. The world number four has now, remarkably, won three Majors in the space of 14 months.

Here’s the final leaderboard:

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