Jon Rahm heats up at PGA Championship. Could the Spaniard end his major drought?
Jon Rahm’s major drought could be nearing an end. At the very least, he’s pumped to finally be in contention again.
Rahm made a charge up the 107th PGA championship leaderboard on Saturday, firing a 4-under par 67 at Quail Hollow that has him tied for fifth place at 7-under heading into the final round of action of the water-logged tournament on Sunday.
Rahm, who hasn’t won a major since taking the Masters in 2023 and only had one other major victory in his career (2021 U.S. Open), is still searching for that elusive third big-time trophy to add to his case. The Spaniard’s best most recent showing at a major came in 2023 at the British Open, when he tied for second, and he’s eager to put this stretch to bed.
“I mean, hard to express how hungry I may be for a major,” said Rahm, who’s been criticized for his move to Saudi-backed LIV Tour. “About as hungry as anybody can be in this situation. Very happy to be in position again. Don’t know where I’ll be. I’m assuming I’ll be at least one shot back starting (Sunday), but that’s a great position.
“This golf course is tricky and one shot is nothing on 18 holes. Very happy with the state of my game. I think today was the round that I knew I was capable of. Those first two rounds felt very confident, and just did everything a little bit better. So, just very excited again to be in this position and looking forward to hopefully having a good Sunday.”
Especially considering Rahm doesn’t typically fare well at Quail Hollow. In fact, he’s previously skipped the PGA Tour’s regular stop at the course.
But now he’s in a rare place, making this just the second time he’s been in contention with Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau among the top 10 on the leaderboard entering the final round of a major championship. It hasn’t happened since the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Scheffler finished strong Saturday to reach 10-under, four ahead of Rahm.
Luck? Depends who you ask
Rahm had a bit of luck on his side just to remain in position to win it all. Although he dropped a stroke on the 475-yard, par-4 No. 11, it could definitely have been worse.
His ball struck a spectator firmly and bounced back onto the fairway, helping him scramble and spark him to knock in three birdies on his final five holes.
“After I hit it and we saw the ball bounce out — which I haven’t seen a ball ricochet like that in a while; I mean if it was a driver, you would expect it, but for a 6-iron — that thing came in sideways quick,” Rahm said. “I told (my caddie) Adam, ‘Well, get the Sharpie ready because I’m going to have to give him something, like a signed glove.’
“His response was, ‘That may not be enough.’”
Rahm had to ponder how to make good on his accidental gaffe.
“I’m like, ‘I don’t know what else you want me to give him,’” Rahm said. “We were kind of sorting through things between golf clubs and golf balls. I don’t think a glove and a tee is going to cut it. He took it great. I told him, if he was European and grew up playing soccer, football, and he just aimed a little bit better, maybe just get it closer to the hole. But besides that he definitely — it’s a weird moment.
“Sometimes when that happens and they’re not hurt, they are so excited because they know we are going to go there and just have a five-minute conversation. Yeah, he took it great and he was a great sport about it.”
Si Woo Kim falters after grabbing lead
Si Woo Kim nearly made history on Saturday.
Only three players representing Korea have led or co-led at the conclusion of a major championship round, with Sungjae Im (2022 Masters), Y.E. Yang, 2009 PGA Championship and K.J. Choi (2008 Open Championship) holding the honors.
Kim came close to joining that rare company after sitting atop the leaderboard for a portion of the third round before things unraveled slightly midway through and he picked up two bogeys in three holes. He fired a 71 and sits at 6-under, tying him for fifth with Jon Rahm and 36-hole leader Jhonattan Vegas.
“It was a tough day and then winds kind of kept switching, like hurting and changing, sometimes helping,” Kim said. “That was the most struggling part today. So, yeah, it played good and then (needed to make a lot of) putts. It was fine.”
Even when Kim ran into trouble, such as at the 221–yard par-3 No. 6 after hitting a tee shot that rolled off the green, he still saved things with the putter, using a nice second to set up a 5-footer to knock in to remain one stroke ahead of group of five players at that time that included Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Sheffler and Vegas.
Scheffler and Vegas caught up to Kim by the time he was through seven holes, knotting the leaderboard in a three-way tie at the top at 7-under, and he never caught back up to Scheffler.
Kim dropped a stroke at No. 9 and fell into a tie for third place at 6-under, settling for a bogey to make the turn with a 35 leading into the back nine and notorious “The Green Mile” finish featuring the course’s 16th, 17th and final holes.
Still, nailing a hole in one at No. 6 on Friday put him in prime position to do his thing and hang with the leaders. Kim’s 252-yard ace is the longest in major championship history, surpassing Gil Morgan’s 245-yard effort in the 1978 PGA Championship at Oakmont Country Club’s No. 8.
If he can pull off the victory Sunday, he’d be the first player to win a major and also card an ace since David Toms at the 2001 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.
“I just played good the last three rounds,” Kim said. “So, I just have one more round. Just try to have fun and then trying to go low as I can.”
J.T. Poston pacing Carolina competition
The North Carolina flavor is still alive and well at Quail Hollow.
Hickory’s J.T. Poston, Raleigh’s Ryan Gerard and Duke product Alex Smalley are hanging on, trying their best to tame the beast of a course. Coincidentally, due to the shifting of the tee times because of inclement morning weather, the trio played during the same span, providing the setup for a friendly competition.
Poston carded a 3-under 68, putting him best among the trio and right there with the leaders in a tie for third at 7-under. Those cheers from his personal section must’ve spurred him on.
“Most of my immediate family is here,” Poston said. “College teammates, high school teammates, a lot. I’m getting a lot of shouts. Some ‘Hickory’ shouts and some ‘Red Tornados,’ ‘828,’ our area code where I’m from, ‘WCU’ where I went to college. It’s a lot of fun. But I have no idea how many. But it feels like a lot.”
Gerard totaled a 1-over and finds himself tied for 17th place at 3-under through 54 holes. Smalley (-2) has some work to do if he wants to stay in the top 25, but he picked up a nice birdie on No. 17 to make himself feel better at the end of his round.
Poston, on the other hand, is in a great position to make some noise in front of a throng of loved ones on Sunday and keep the good Carolina vibes going.
“It’s been great,” Poston said. “Obviously had some success in Greensboro at Wyndham. Got my first PGA Tour win there. I love playing in front of the home crowd. I think I definitely can feed off of some of that momentum and people pulling for me.
“I’m sure (Sunday) will be no different than it has been every other day this week. Definitely looking forward to it.”
This story was originally published May 17, 2025 at 7:58 PM.
