This post compares the results of round 3 in my 2024 PGA Championship replay at Bluegrass with those of the actual tournament at Valhalla. Previous posts have made similar comparisons for rounds 1 and 2 and covered the replay setup.
Actual Results: Moving Day Tightens the Screws
Saturday at Valhalla delivered exactly what a major championship’s moving day is supposed to: momentum swings, leaderboard compression, and a final-round setup brimming with tension. With softer conditions lingering but the course beginning to firm as the day wore on, scoring was available but no longer automatic. By nightfall the PGA Championship had transformed into a two-man duel at the top with a pack of dangerous chasers close enough to matter.
Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele emerged in different ways to share the 54-hole lead at 15-under par. Morikawa followed his opening rounds of 66 and 65 with another composed 67, leaning heavily on elite iron play and controlled aggressiveness. He rarely put himself out of position, repeatedly giving himself manageable birdie looks and avoiding the kind of mistakes that can derail a moving-day charge. It was classic Morikawa golf–precise, efficient, and quietly relentless.
At the same time, Schauffele continued to show why he has long been one of the most reliable performers in the biggest events. After his historic opening round of 62, Schauffele shot a 68 in round 2 to lead Morikawa by one stroke. Then on day 3 Schauffele repeated with another steady round of 68. With Morikawa’s 67 on Saturday, the pair were locked at the top heading into a Sunday major showdown.
Just one shot back from those two sat Sahith Theegala, who once again refused to blink. His third consecutive round in the 60s, another 67, moved him to 14-under par and firmly into contention. Theegala’s blend of creativity and fearlessness around the greens kept pressure on the leaders throughout the afternoon. He entered Sunday with a genuine chance to turn promise into breakthrough.
Three players shared fourth at 13-under, each adding a different flavor to the chase. Bryson DeChambeau muscled his way through Valhalla with a powerful 67, continuing to take advantage of softened landing areas and reachable par 5s. Viktor Hovland bettered that score with his second straight 66, steadily rebuilding momentum after an uneven opening round and positioning himself as one of the most dangerous ball-strikers heading into the final day.
Shane Lowry delivered one of the best rounds of the tournament, firing a scintillating 62 that vaulted him up the leaderboard and reignited memories of his major pedigree. On a day when low numbers were harder to find, Lowry’s surge stood out as the defining charge.
At 12-under, Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose formed the next tier, both posting 66s to stay within striking distance. Rose’s round was particularly notable, combining veteran course management with timely birdies that kept him relevant deep into moving day.
Further back but not out of it, Dean Burmester reached 11-under after a steady 68. Meanwhile, a crowded group at 10-under, including Thomas Detry, Austin Eckroat, Harris English, Tony Finau, Lee Hodges, and Justin Thomas lingered close enough to apply pressure if the leaders faltered.
By the time the final putts dropped, Valhalla had done its job. The field was compressed, the leaderboard was stacked with proven winners and hungry challengers, and the margin for error was razor thin. Morikawa and Schauffele held the advantage, but with Theegala charging, DeChambeau and Hovland lurking, and Lowry surging, Sunday promised to be a finish worthy of a major championship stage.
The top of the actual round 3 leaderboard is provided below.
Replay Results: Moving Day Blows the Tournament Open
If the first two rounds at Bluegrass hinted that patience would be rewarded, Saturday’s moving day confirmed it—and then rewrote the script entirely. While much of the field jockeyed for position, one player detonated the leaderboard with a round that turned a crowded chase into a 3-stroke advantage heading into Sunday.
Scottie Scheffler delivered the defining performance of the replay championship, torching Bluegrass with a brilliant 64 to surge into the outright lead at 16-under par. It was the lowest round of the day and a classic Scheffler statement: relentless ball-striking, controlled aggressiveness, and zero wasted motion. After opening rounds of 65 and 68, Scheffler turned up the heat on Saturday, separating himself from the field and seizing full command of the tournament. By the time he walked off the final green, what had been a compressed leaderboard now has to play catch-up.
Three shots back in second place sits Viktor Hovland, the steadiest pursuer. Hovland’s 67 didn’t generate headlines, but it did exactly what moving day demands: keep him within striking distance while others faltered. At 13-under, his week has been defined by balance—strong driving, reliable irons, and just enough scoring to stay dangerous. He enters Sunday as the clear challenger to Scheffler.
In third, Grayson Murray cooled slightly with a 69 after his electric second-round 62, but his overall position remains impressive. At 11-under, Murray’s week tells the story of volatility embraced rather than feared—a shaky opening round followed by one of the tournament’s great charges and a composed follow-up on moving day to stay in the hunt.
A pair of players share fourth at 9-under, each arriving there via very different paths. Justin Rose continues his steady climb with a workmanlike 67, leaning on veteran course management and timely birdies to remain firmly relevant. Alongside him, Nick Taylor completed one of the more remarkable turnarounds in the field. After a brutal opening 75, Taylor has posted remarkable rounds of 64 and 65 to put himself into contention and inject momentum into his weekend.
Just behind them, Brian Harman sits sixth at 8-under after consecutive 66s, proving once again that precision and patience can still thrive on a modern, stretched layout. A tightly packed group at 7-under fills the next rung on the leaderboard, including Akshay Bhatia, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Young.
For some, like Clark and DeChambeau, Saturday was about stabilization after earlier turbulence. For others, including Cantlay, it was a missed opportunity—a disappointing two-over par effort that allowed others to pull ahead.
By the end of moving day, Bluegrass has drawn clear lines. Scheffler didn’t just move to the top—he created daylight. Hovland remains close enough to apply pressure, Murray lurks as a wildcard, and a handful of veterans still have a path if Sunday turns volatile. But make no mistake: the replay championship now hinges on overtaking the world’s most consistent closer.
The top of the replay round 3 leaderboard is shown below.
By the Numbers: How Bluegrass Gave and Took on Moving Day
Moving day at Bluegrass wasn’t just defined by the names at the top of the leaderboard. It was shaped by how the course and calm conditions yielded scoring chances and punished hesitation. Players who committed to aggressive lines were sometimes rewarded with eagle opportunities, but even small lapses in positioning or touch quickly showed up on the scorecard.
The third round continued to reinforce Bluegrass as a venue where momentum can swing rapidly, often on a single hole. The numbers from round 3 tell that story in detail.
From par 5s that played as true scoring holes to isolated par 4s that invited bold attacks, the course offered multiple avenues to create separation if players were bold enough to take them. At the same time, accuracy off the tee and efficiency on the greens remained critical, as missed fairways and cold putting could just as easily stall a round.
What follows is a snapshot of round 3’s defining moments and statistical extremes, highlighting where Bluegrass gave, where it resisted, and how the field navigated that balance:
- Matthew Fitzpatrick eagled No. 7, a 595-yard par 5.
- Chris Kirk, Nick Dunlap, and Thriston Lawrence eagled No. 10, a 590-yard par 5.
- Victor Perez eagled No. 12, a 495-yard par 4.
- Tyrrell Hatton, Nick Taylor, Bryson DeChambeau, Wyndham Clark, Justin Rose, and Grayson Murray eagled No. 18, a 570-yard par 5.
- Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation. (Avg. = 11.3)
- Ben An and Sepp Straka hit the fewest greens at 7.
- Jon Rahm hit 13 of 14 fairways. (Avg. = 8.9)
- Sepp Straka hit the fewest fairways at 3.
- Rasmus Højgaard led all players in average driving distance (two holes) at 348 yards. (Avg. = 300)
- Wyndham Clark and Chris Gotterup led all players in average driving distance (all drives) at 314 yards. (Avg. = 293)
- Keith Mitchell had the longest drive of the round at 385 yards.
- Brian Harman sunk the longest putt at 45 feet.
- Scottie Scheffler had the longest total distance of putts made at 134 feet. (Avg. = 81)
- Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia had the fewest putts at 24. (Avg. = 28.2)
- Doug Ghim took the most putts at 35.
Two Moving Days, Two Stories: How Round 3 Set the Stage for Replay’s Final Round
Saturday at Valhalla and Saturday at Bluegrass share the same label—moving day—but unfolded in sharply different ways. In the actual championship, the third round compressed the field and produced balance rather than separation.
Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele reached the summit together at 15-under, with Sahith Theegala a single shot back and a deep group of proven contenders stacked just behind. Momentum was distributed, not seized; the leaderboard tightened instead of breaking, ensuring that Sunday would hinge on execution under pressure rather than recovery from a deficit.
The replay, by contrast, delivered a decisive shift. While the actual event produced multiple co-leaders and a crowded chase, a clear front-runner emerged at Bluegrass. Scottie Scheffler’s 64 didn’t merely move him to the top—it created daylight. His three-shot cushion over Viktor Hovland has reshaped the competitive landscape, turning Sunday from a multi-player shootout into a likely one- or two-man race against Scottie. Where the real tournament rewarded steadiness across the board, this replay amplifies the value of one dominant moving-day performance.
That divergence now defines the tone of replay round 4. In the actual championship, the final round opened with uncertainty and opportunity layered throughout the top ten, every contender within reach of the Wanamaker Trophy. In the replay, the burden shifts decisively to the chasers.
Hovland must apply early pressure, Murray must summon volatility again, and the rest of the field must force mistakes rather than wait for them. Bluegrass has not closed the door, but after round 3’s separation, the Final Round will demand intent, not patience, from everyone trying to run down the leader.
Complete statistical results for round 3 of the replay can be viewed by clicking in the upper righthand corner of the PDF below: