Mito Pereira shot a 1-under 69 to secure a three-shot lead after three rounds of play at the 2022 PGA Championship.
Pereira, who is ranked No. 100 in the world, closed with three birdies on his final six holes (Nos. 13, 14 and 18) to reach 9-under par, and secure the advantage over an historically weak major championship leaderboard, at least in terms of world rankings and tour performance.
How star-poor is the leaderboard at Southern Hills? The combined number of PGA Tour wins (not even majors) of the top-4 leaders – Pereira (-9), Will Zalatoris (-6), Matt Fitzpatrick (-6), and Cameron Young (-5) – is ZERO, while only one (Fitzpatrick) appears inside the top 25 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
The one player who will have lots of regrets come Sunday night will be Justin Thomas, the only true superstar among the top pack, ahead of Saturday’s round. Standing amid a slew of little-known and untested names, it was a perfect opportunity for JT to secure his long-awaited 15th career PGA Tour victory and second major title. But the 29-year-old Kentucky native went backwards on moving day, shooting a 4-over par 74 to fall out of contention at 2-under par, a full seven shots off the pace.
2022 PGA Championship
Top 10: Leaderboard
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 3 Score)
1. Mito Pereira -9 (-1)
2. Will Zalatoris -6 (+3)
2. Matt Fitzpatrick -6 (-3)
4. Cam Young -5 (-3)
5. Abraham Ancer -4 (E)
6. Seamus Power -3 (-3)
7. Justin Thomas -2 (+4)
7. Bubba Watson -2 (+3)
7. Stewart Cink -2 (+1)
10. Chris Kirk -1 (+1)
10. Davis Riley -1 (+3)
10. Sam Burns -1 (+1)
10. Gary Woodland -1 (+2)
10. Max Homa -1 (E)
10. Lucas Herbert -1 (-2)
10. Webb Simpson -1 (-5)
Full Leaderboard: Round 3
Sunday’s Final Pairings
2:35 pm – Pereira (-9), Fitzpatrick (-6)
2:25 pm – Zalatoris (-6), Young (-5)
2:15 pm – Ancer (-4), Power (-3)
2:05 pm – Thomas (-2), Cink (-2)
1:55 pm – Watson (-2), Simpson (-1)
