Unlikely leaders poised to end US Major win drought

A record American Major golf victory drought was poised to end as unlikely US heroes Brendan Steele and Jason Dufner topped an American-filled leaderboard on Saturday at the 93rd PGA Championship.

Steele, trying to become the first man to win a Major debut on US soil since Francis Ouimet at the 1913 US Open, and Dufner, winless in six US PGA seasons, shared the lead on seven-under par 203 after 54 holes at Atlanta Athletic Club.

“To have a chance to actually win in my first major is really something special,” Steele said. “It was nice to play well and roll some putts in and put myself in a good position.”

No American has won a Major title since Phil Mickelson at the 2010 Masters, a record six-event drought. Six of the top seven players entering Sunday’s last round in the year’s final Major are US players, but none yet own a Major title.

“It seems like international players have been playing at a higher level than the Americans,” Dufner said. “Six straight Majors for internationals, so that kind of shows it.

“For me it would be a great situation to win this golf tournament. I’ve been out here six years trying to win a tournament.”

Keegan Bradley, a 25-year-old US PGA rookie who won the Texas Open last April, was third on 204 with Scott Verplank, a 47-year-old veteran with one win in the past decade, was another stroke back in fourth.

“I don’t feel a day older than 100,” Verplank said. “I hope I can turn back the clock a little bit and go back to when I was about 21 when I won everything I played in. Maybe that will happen overnight.”

Steve Stricker, who matched the low round in Major golf history with an opening 63 on Thursday, was fifth on 206 and wary of inexperienced leaders, veterans lurking within reach and four last holes that can cause double bogeys.

“Guys that can come from behind have nothing to lose, and there are a lot of first timers up at the top,” Stricker said. “I don’t know how far back you’ve got to go to find a major champion.”

It’s beyond D.A. Points, who won his first title in seven PGA seasons last February at Pebble Beach, and Denmark’s Anders Hansen, who shared sixth on 207.

Reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, Australians Adam Scott and John Senden, Swede Robert Karlsson and American David Toms, who shot the day’s low of 65 on the same course where he won the 2001 PGA, were on 208.

Schwartzel went bogey-free, with a birdie at the tricky par-3 15 and three closing pars over “some of the toughest I’ve ever played. These last four holes are going to decide this golf tournament.”

Veteran contenders were swatted aside by the back nine. American Jim Furyk, the 2003 US Open champion, led but twice found the water for double bogeys in the last four holes to finish six off the lead.

Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, the Englishmen ranked first and second in the world, stumbled back to stand with Furyk. Scott also made a run at the top but will start Sunday five adrift.

“You can make up six shots in the last four holes, so yeah, I think you can make up six shots in the last round,” Scott said. “But I’m going to have to play well, going to have to get the momentum going and minimise the errors.”

Twelve different players have won the past 12 majors and first-time major winners have taken the past six events in a row and nine of the last 10.

Of the four leaders, Dufner is ranked the highest at 80th, seven spots above Verplank. Bradley is 108th and Steele is 121st.

Bradley, four months removed from his first PGA triumph, had not seen the course before Monday and was not playing all that well before a talk with his coach and swing advice during a practice round Wednesday with Scott Piercy, the last man to make the PGA field by virtue of a victory at Reno last weekend.

“I went to the range and it has been slowly getting better and better each day,” Bradley said.

The par-4 18th hole, with water in front of the green, was the hardest hole on the course with the 265-yard par-3 15th ranked second toughest. The 18th has offered up 37 double bogeys, 16 higher scores and a course-low 25 birdies.

“Any time you get holes that are this difficult, it’s going to make for an exciting finish, exciting in terms of can you hold on,” said Donald, who took a double bogey at 18.

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