KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Steve Stricker got himself back within shouting distance at the PGA Championship on Saturday, thanks to a third-round 5-under 67.
“Well, you know, it kind of gets me back in it,” he said after a six-birdie, one-bogey performance that left him at 2-under 214 for 54 holes. “It all depends on what happens this afternoon. The wind may be kicking up a little bit more, making it a little bit more difficult for them. But it all depends what those leaders do.”
Stricker’s 67 follows a nifty round of 73 in blustery conditions on Friday. If not for an opening-round 74 that he knows could have been better, he would be even closer to the top of the leaderboard right now.
“I didn’t have my best stuff,” he said of Thursday’s round. “I wasn’t really thinking properly. I was just sort of going through the motions. I don’t know if I was nervous because I was thinking about this Ryder Cup thing, but I kind of salvaged that day.”
Stricker is 10th on the U.S. points list with the top eight finishers at week’s end receiving automatic qualifying spots. Captain Davis Love III has intimated that even if Stricker doesn’t make the team on points, he would likely be a captain’s pick in three weeks.