Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose pepper the flag at 8 … but only Scheffler is able to make the short birdie putt he’s left with. He rises to -4 while Rose stays stuck at -3 having lipped out. Another birdie for Kurt Kitayama, this time at 13, where he nearly holed out from 120 yards for eagle. He’s -3. And birdie for Rory McIlroy at 9 … but he’d dropped a stroke at 7 and so turns in level-par 35. He’s -1 after an erratic front nine.

Cameron Smith shoots 65

Patrick Cantlay crashes his tee shot at the risk-and-reward short par-four 14th onto the right-hand fringe of the green. He then drains a 40-foot putt for only the second eagle of the week on this hole! He rises to -1. Bogey for Cameron Smith on 17, meanwhile, though he’s still on course for a best-of-week 65 should he par the last.

Hovland splashes out of the bunker but leaves himself a tricky ten-footer for par. Koepka lags up from distance and will escape with bogey. A big putt for Hovland, then, who won’t want to match Koepka’s score having hit a perfect 3-wood from the tee while his opponent found the reeds. So there’s a spring in his step when he rams the putt into the centre of the cup and plucks the ball back out. A huge par, and the lead is suddenly just one.

-8: Koepka (5)
-7: Hovland (5)
-4: DeChambeau (6), Conners (6)

A late charge up the leaderboard by Sepp Straka. Birdies at 10, 13, 14 and now 15, and the 30-year-old Austrian is -3. Victor Perez meanwhile responds to those back-to-back bogeys with birdie at 9. He’s out in 32 and -2 overall. And Scottie Scheffler finally makes a putt; his first birdie of the day, at 7, moves him up to -3.

The referee suggests Koepka’s ball has ended up in the reeds that did for slapstick artiste Tom Kim on Thursday evening. Official and player are now debating exactly where the ball crossed. While they work that out, Hovland sends his second into the bunker to the right of the green. Koepka eventually drops, then batters his third onto the back of the green. Two putts and he’ll escape with a bogey that’ll feel like a win. Especially if Hovland can’t get up and down from the sand.

Viktor Hovland crashes his drive down the right-hand side of the 6th fairway. Then Brooks Koepka sends a big slice wide right. The camera loses track of the ball. It didn’t look like it was heading for the creek, and he might even get a break on some grass trodden down by the gallery … but nothing’s confirmed yet. He could also be in deep filth. More news when we have it.

Another couple of big birdie putts drop elsewhere. Justin Rose curls one on 6 to move to -4; Cameron Smith wedges from 140 yards to seven feet at 16 and tidies up to rise to -2. This almost certainly won’t be enough for the Open champion, but he’s on course to set a clubhouse total that will give quite a large proportion of the field food for thought.

Brooks Koepka’s putt at 5, a gentle downhill left-to-right slider, looks like heading in. But it drifts too far to the right on its final turn. No fourth consecutive birdie for Brooks. Just – just! – a par. So a tiny window of opportunity cracks open for Viktor Hovland … and he clambers through it, pouring his left-to-right curler in for birdie to close the gap at the top to two strokes!

-9: Koepka (5)
-7: Hovland (5)

At the par-three 5th, Corey Conners shoves his tee shot down the bank to the right and short-sides himself. He chips up to ten feet, but gives his birdie straight back to the field. He slips to -4, where he’s joined by his playing partner Bryson DeChambeau heading the other way. A lovely iron to four feet earns Bryson his birdie. Once they vacate the green, Brooks Koepka sets up another birdie chance from 15 feet. Viktor Hovland, now dealing with added matchplay-style pressure, does extremely well to give himself a similar opportunity. A couple of big putts coming up!

Viktor Hovland eases a gentle wedge into 4, spinning the ball back close like Corey Conners did before him. It leads to his first birdie of the day. Only problem being, Brooks Koepka is unstoppable right now, and matches him stroke for stroke. The gap at the top remains three, but at least the Norwegian is maintaining some sort of chase. A second consecutive bogey for Victor Perez, meanwhile, at 8, the latest man to illustrate how there’s no future at Oak Hill if you don’t find the fairway.

-9: Koepka (4)
-6: Hovland (4)
-5: Conners (4)
-3: Rose (5), DeChambeau (4)
-2: Scheffler (5)
-1: Smith (15), Straka (13), Kitayama (10), Perez (8), McIlroy (6)

Rory McIlroy may as well go for broke. He aims for the flag at the treacherous long par-four 6th, tucked beside the creek. He lands his ball pin high, then rolls in the right-to-left slider from 12 feet for birdie. He’s back into the red at -1.

The Open champion Cameron Smith builds on that early momentum. Birdies at 13 and 14 whisk him up to -1. On the long par-five 4th, Corey Conners wedges into the heart of the green from 102 yards, spinning his ball back to three feet. A chance to repair the damage of the previous hole. In it goes. But bogey at 7 for Victor Perez, who wasn’t able to take on the creek crossing the fairway after finding the long stuff from the tee.

-8: Koepka (3)
-5: Conners (4), Hovland (3)
-3: Rose (5), DeChambeau (4)
-2: Perez (7), Scheffler (4)

Hovland gives his putt a good run, but it’s never dropping. Just a par. Koepka tidies up for his second birdie in a row, and right now he looks as though he’s in the mood to banish the demons that saw him drift pensively through that Netflix documentary and subsequently jiggered his Masters bid. This is awesome stuff.

-8: Koepka (3)
-5: Hovland (3)
-4: Conners (3)
-3: Perez (6), Rose (3), DeChambeau (3)
-2: Scheffler (3)

A couple of big US stars making a late tilt for the title. Patrick Reed birdies 1, 3 and 6 and is currently -1 through 7; Patrick Cantlay guides a left-to-right slider in from 20 feet on 10 to join him at -1, having previously birdied 2, 4 and 9. But the biggest US star of all right now is Brooks Koepka, and he’s just eased his tee shot at the 212-yard par-three 3rd to four feet. Viktor Hovland will have a look at birdie from 20 feet, but the field are in danger of being left behind in Koepka’s dust if they’re not careful.

The first significant move at the top. Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland pepper the flag at 2. Hovland misses his downhill four-foot tickler, the ball breaking right like Scottie Scheffler before him, but Koepka’s effort is straighter and in it goes for birdie. Meanwhile a three-putt bogey for Rory McIlroy at 4 – he slips to level par – and a poor bunker shot at 3 costs Corey Conners a shot at 3.

-7: Koepka (2)
-5: Hovland (2)
-4: Conners (3)
-3: Perez (6), Rose (3), DeChambeau (2)
-2: Scheffler (3)

Jordan Spieth nearly rakes in a monster across 18 for birdie. But par will have to do. He signs for a final-day 69, a fine round slightly sullied by a double bogey at 17. He’s +5 and the career grand slam will have to wait another year. Meanwhile a fine up and down from distance by Corey Conners at 2. He’d pulled his tee shot into a fairway bunker, necessitating a chip out. But he wedged from 100 yards to three feet, and remains at -5.

A word on Scottie Scheffler’s putter. It’s been cold all weekend, and the early signs suggest it’s refusing to warm up. After that lip-out at 1, he sent his second at 2 to four feet, only for the birdie putt to turn apologetically to the right. Now a medium-range birdie effort on 3 refuses to drop. The world number two and Players champion remains at -2 … but if he can get anything at all going on the greens, watch out field.

A garden variety par for Brooks Koepka at 1. A much more impressive one for Viktor Hovland, whose drive ended up in thick rough. He powered out, his ball rolling down the swale to the back of the green, about the best he could do with no spin control. He bundles a chip back up to six feet, then makes his par putt. What a scramble after that poor opening drive. A flat-out refusal to start cold.

-6: Koepka (1)
-5: Conners (1), Hovland (1)
-3: Perez (5), Rose (2), DeChambeau (1)
-2: Scheffler (2)
-1: Reed (6), McIlroy (3)

Bogey on the cards? Nah! Rose dinks a little chip onto the 2nd green and finds the cup. He remains at -3 … where he’s joined by Victor Perez, who knocks his tee shot at 5 to six feet and makes the putt for a fourth birdie in a row! Meanwhile bogey for Jon Rahm at 18. That’s his week in microcosm. A 71, and the world number one and Masters champion ends the week at +7. There was never any coming back from that opening round of 76.

Opening pars for DeChambeau and Conners. But trouble for Rose at 2, as he ends up in the bunker guarding the front right of the green. He’s short sided, and tries to get too cute with his splash out. His ball only just squirts out of the trap, and nestles in the rough surrounding the green. Bogey on the cards.

The 54-hole leader Brooks Koepka takes to the tee. Like Bryson before him, he gets a much better reception today. He certainly deserves it. He’s been outrageously good this week. He creams his opening drive down the right-hand side of the fairway. Then it’s Viktor Hovland’s turn … and his ball disappears in the thick rough down the right. That’s it, then! Everyone’s out and about! Let’s play some golf!

A fast start too by Victor Perez. The 30-year-old from the Pyrenees has birdied 2, 3 and 4 to whizz up to -2. Back on 1, Scottie Scheffler’s birdie putt horseshoes out at a weirdly glacial pace. How did that not drop? The big man looks befuddled. And on 2, McIlroy can’t save his par. A decent chip up to ten feet, but the putt’s always staying up on the high side. Immediate deflation.

-6: Koepka
-5: Hovland, Conners
-3: Rose (1), DeChambeau
-2: Perez (4), Scheffler (1)
-1: McIlroy (2)

Corey Conners, looking to become only the second Canadian to win a men’s major, after 2003 Masters winner Mike Weir, whistles his opening drive down the middle. Then up steps Bryson DeChambeau, who gets a much warmer reception than the boo-soaked outrage of yesterday … though there are still a few grumbles from the gallery. Poor Bryson, we can’t all be exactly the same. Undeterred, he cracks his drive down the fairway. Meanwhile up on the green, Justin Rose makes like Rory earlier, tapping in for birdie after sticking his approach close. He’s up to -3.

Disappointment for McIlroy at 2. He takes an iron from the tee to put himself in prime position, only to send his approach wide right of the green. He’s down the side of a thickly covered hill, and short-sided to boot. He’ll do well to get close from there. Par the dream, bogey more likely.

Kurt Kitayama has hovered around the upper echelons of the leaderboard all week, without ever quite inserting himself into the picture. Rounds of 70, 71 and 71. But the 30-year-old Californian, who won his first PGA Tour title a couple of months ago at the Arnold Palmer International, is off to a flyer today. Birdies at 1, 4 and now 5 have zipped him up the standings and into red figures. He’s -1.

Block gives himself the chance of salvaging birdie by wedging into the centre of the green and spinning his ball back to ten feet. But he can’t make the par saver. It slides by on the right and that’s an opening bogey for the last man standing of the Team of 20. Rory taps in for his birdie, and well, here we go.

-6: Koepka
-5: Hovland, Conners
-3: DeChambeau
-2: McIlroy (1), Rose, Scheffler

An awkward lie in the rough for Block, who has to stand with one foot in a bunker and chip back out onto the fairway. But what a start for Rory, who from 144 yards fires straight at the pin to 18 inches! He’ll kick that one in for the fastest of starts. He’s going to be -2 in a couple of shakes.

Callum Tarren was shaping up to be one of those big stories after opening rounds of 71 and 67. But he tumbled down the standings yesterday, a miserable front nine of 42 leading to a hope-ending 79. But he’s finished with a flourish today: a second sub-70 round of the week. Today’s 68 would have been even better had it not been for an unfortunate triple-bogey at 16. The 32-year-old from Darlington may or may not have done enough to top his previous best appearance at a major – he tied for 31st at last year’s US Open at Brookline, and is currently tied for 33rd here – but whatever happens, that’s a fine PGA Championship debut nonetheless. He ends his week at +5.

Michael Block is one of the stories – and perhaps the story – of this 105th PGA Championship. One of the PGA Team of 20 club professionals in this year’s field, he’s the only one to have made the cut. That’s an achievement in itself, but carding three consecutive rounds of 70 is on another level altogether. The 46-year-old from Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in southern California takes to the tee for the final round with two-time winner Rory McIlroy, and he’s clearly in the mood to enjoy every single moment of this, having turned up at the course four hours ago to mingle with his new legion of fans. Good on him. There won’t be a single person at Oak Hill wishing him anything but the best of luck. Winning is probably beyond him … but a top-ten finish isn’t … or even a top-four-and-ties finish for a place at next year’s Masters! A huge roar greets him before he bashes his first drive down the track. He finds the rough down the right. McIlroy splits the fairway. Godspeed Michael Block.

Justin Thomas finished the defence of his title with a round of 72. He ends the week at +12. In a neat twist of fate, he went round today with Phil Mickelson, the 2021 champion, who didn’t get to defend last year as a result of flapping his gums too loudly re LIV and the Saudis. So he was defending his crown as well this week, sort of, if you apply the logic of an elite sports star, because that’s certainly the way he’ll have been thinking about it. Nice that they played together today, then, as they took their leave of the stage. Lefty left in style, too, with a birdie at 18 that gave him a best-of-week 70. He ended up at +10.

Kazuki Higa made the first birdie of this year’s tournament on Thursday morning at the par-three 11th. The 28-year-old from Japan, making his PGA Championship debut, then went on to birdie 12, 13 and 14 and led for a few hours. But that was as good as it got. He ended the first day with a 72, followed that up with 73 and 77, and this morning shot 80 to end the week propping up the leaderboard at +20. A shame, but then again he can now always say he once led a major championship, which is something he wasn’t able to do this time last week.

A storming start for Sepp Straka as well. The big Austrian has opened with birdies at 1, 2 and 5, to whistle 12 places up the standings and into the top ten. Any old excuse to update the leaderboard for the first time this afternoon.

-6: Koepka
-5: Hovland, Conners
-3: DeChambeau
-2: Rose, Scheffler
-1: McIlroy
E: Straka (5), Lee (2), Block, Suh
+1: Smith (7), Svensson (5), Cantlay (4), Kitayama (3), Reed (2), Cole (1), Fleetwood, Perez, Jaeger, Lowry
+2: Lowry (1)

After yesterday’s deluge, the calm. It’s sunny and serene in Rochester, and while Oak Hill’s fancy new computerised drainage system has sucked away most of yesterday’s downpour, the course is playing a little softer, and therefore there’s an opportunity for someone to shoot low. Case study one: Adam Scott, who birdied 5, 6, 8 and 12 this morning and was the perfect example until making bogey at 15. He’s three under for his round, though, and +3 overall. Case study two: the Open champion Cameron Smith, who has just flown out of the traps with birdies at 2, 3, 4 and 6 … then bogeyed 7. Bah. But you get the general point. He’s also three under for his round today, after a mere seven holes, and has whisked himself up the standings to +1 in double-quick time. All good news for the chasing pack … as well as the leader Brooks Koepka, of course, and he was capable of a 66 in yesterday’s rain, so if he really fancies it today, all bets are off. Or will he fold again like he did on Masters Sunday? Yes, well anything’s possible, but the way he’s playing this week, you wouldn’t bet the farm on it happening again.

Preamble