2025 PGA Championship Third Round Leaderboard and Notes

The Contenders

Scottie Scheffler – The World No. 1 has looked more comfortable each day at Quail Hollow and ranks first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and second Off-the-Tee. Pair that with a three-shot lead – Scheffler finished the third round eagle-birdie-par-birdie-birdie – and he’s in business for his first non-Masters major title. 

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Alex Noren – The Swede isn’t a pretender, but he doesn’t look like a particularly strong contender right now. Noren has struggled off the tee all week, relying on his approach game and putter to stay in the mix. Seven birdies on Saturday, including two on the Green Mile, didn’t hurt, either. He has only been in the top five at a major after 54 holes once before – at the 2008 Open, where he finished T-19.

Davis Riley – Riley’s Saturday performance was the quintessential way to attack Quail Hollow: avoid big numbers early and late, attack in the middle. Do I think he’ll win? Nope. Can he? There’s a chance.

Jon Rahm – This is the Jon Rahm we’ve been waiting to see in majors for the last year and a half. He’s first in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, 20th in Approach, and 21st in Putting. He’s doing a lot of things well, but making up the five-shot gap to catch Scottie won’t be easy.

Jhonattan Vegas – Vegas has cooled off since his heater of a Thursday 64, but as we noted in yesterday’s newsletter, poor form hasn’t kept him from winning in the past.

‍Keegan Bradley – The U.S. Ryder Cup captain ranks second tee to green this week, and a strong finish will bolster his bona fides to be a playing captain. I’m here for the chaos.

Bryson DeChambeau – One of the big three favorites entering the week, Bryson got lost on the Green Mile on Saturday, but his bombs-away strategy has generally worked well at Quail Hollow. He’s third in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 15th in putting, which makes him a dangerous chaser in spite of a six-shot deficit.

The Pretenders

J.T. Poston – A hot putter has overcompensated for some shortcomings off the tee through three rounds. 

Si Woo Kim – If Kim wins, his celebration would be amazing (just watch what he did after his hole-in-one on Friday), but he ranks 29th tee to green and 62nd off the tee, which doesn’t give me much confidence for a big final-round push.

Matthieu Pavon – A 65 on Friday put Pavon in contention, but he was hanging on by his fingernails for most of the third round, and I’d expect more of the same come Sunday.

Tony Finau – Consistent scores like 70-69-69 are good at a major, but I don’t see a Sunday 66 or lower in Finau’s future.

‍Matt Fitzpatrick – The 2022 U.S. Open champion showed flashes of brilliance this week and has avoided big numbers, but he hasn’t hit that next necessary gear to go low where the course is gettable.

Other Saturday Notes

When a storm delayed the start of the third round, tee times were restructured into threesomes that went off Nos. 1 and 10. This placed 31-year-old Bryson DeChambeau and 52-year-old Richard Bland in the same group. The difference off the tee between the two was staggering. DeChambeau out-drove Bland by an average of 44.86 yards in the third round. It’s like they were playing different sports! DeChambeau was 60 yards farther down the fairway three times (Nos. 1, 15, and 16).

Mudballs were the talk of the first two rounds, and more rain on Saturday morning continued the discussion. Add in some strong winds in the afternoon, and the third round was a real test for the 74 players who made the cut. “You have to really hang tough because there's still wicked mud balls out there. I had a couple that were violent,” said Keegan Bradley.

Fifty players were over par in the third round. Alex Noren (66) shot the best round of the day, while Sergio Garcia and Ben An (79) recorded the worst rounds.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 34 of the last 35 PGA Championship winners were in the top five after 54 holes (Justin Thomas was T-7 in 2022). The top five (and ties) entering the final round this year: Scottie Scheffler, Alex Noren, Davis Riley, J.T. Poston, Jon Rahm, Si Woo Kim, and Jhonattan Vegas.

‍Scottie Scheffler has the second-most major championship rounds in the 60s since 2022 (25). Rory McIlroy has the most (26).

‍This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.