Event of the Day: Day 4 of the PGA Championship
Our event of the day is the final day of the PGA Championship on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York. Defending champion Brooks Koepka holds a commanding seven-stroke lead at the top of the leaderboard. As he looks to defend his title, we are sure to see some spectacular golf. Be sure you tune into the action. Coming into the final round, the tournament is Brooks Koepka’s to lose. The defending champion took the lead after the first day and hasn’t relinquished it since. What was a one stroke lead after day one became a seven stroke lead after days two and three. Even as he faltered on the final holes of Saturday’s play, he still held a firm grip on the competition. If he holds on for the win, it will be the first instance of a player winning back to back titles at the PGA Championship since Tiger Woods did so in 2007 and 2008. However, if things were to go badly wrong for Koepka tomorrow, there are a number of players that could take the title from the American. Out of the four players currently tied for second place at five under par, Dustin Johnson likely has the best chance to succeed, if Koepka were to falter. The 2016 US Open champion already has two titles this year, the Saudi International and the WGC-Mexico Championship, and is the most successful of the players tied for second. However, he fell victim to Bethpage’s long courses and unforgiving rough, going from five birdies in his first eight holes to hitting an even-par across the second nine on Saturday. At the very least, Johnson is set to improve on his tournament best of T-5th in 2010. Harold Varner III has worked his way up from T-17th after Day 1 to T-10th after Day 2 to his current position tied for second after yesterday’s play. However, Varner has one professional title to his name and appears in only his second PGA Championship, failing to make the cut back in 2016. Also facing the longshot challenge for first is Luke List, also making the cut for the first time at the PGA Championships. Finally, there is the Thai wild card, Jazz Janewattananond. Playing in the tournament by special invitation from the PGA, the 23-year-old is playing in only the second major of his career. He has shocked a lot of pundits flying as high as he has and while he is an extremely outside shot at the title, he is an exciting golfer getting invaluable career experience. While comebacks have been mounted on the final day of tournaments before, most certainly Brooks Koepka holds his destiny in his hands, however this should still be a final round with lots of high quality golf.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the French MotoGP at the Circuit Bugatti in Le Mans. After four races in the 2019 season, defending champion Marc Márquez holds a slim lead over compatriot Álex Rins. The standings are as close as they are due to Márquez retiring from the American Grand Prix, a race that Rims won. With the season moving to northern France, be sure you don’t miss this race. The Internationale d'Italia concludes at the Foro Italico in Rome. Rafael Nadal plays Novak Djokovic in the men’s final while Karolína Plíšková faces Johanna Konta in the women’s final. England look to sweep the series verus Pakistan in the 5th ODI between the two sides at Headingley in Leeds. England lead 3-0 after series-clinching win on Friday. The Toronto Raptors host the Milwaukee Bucks at Scotiabank Arena for Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Bucks hold a 2-0 lead in the series and look to move within one win of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1974. The San Jose Sharks host the St Louis Blues at SAP Center for Game 5 of the NHL Western Conference Finals with the series tied at 2-2. In hurling, Carlow host Kilkenny in the Hurling Senior Championship at Netwatch Cullen Park. The World Triathlon Series continues in Yokohama, Japan, with the agre group events. In the NWSL, the Houston Dash host the Chicago Red Stars at BBVA Compass Stadium.