It was the first time Woods has withdrawn from a major as a professional. Mito Pereira is proving to be the dark horse as he surges ahead with his gritty game

 

 

TULSA,OK: Now, this is indeed shocking and all the Tiger Woods’ fans are aghast. Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the US PGA Championship after struggling in the third round at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 15-time major winner had his third worst round in a major, a nine-over 79, that left him joint last on 12 over.

 

 

 

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In obvious pain, Woods limped his way around in the cold and wind, at one point making five straight bogeys. It was the first time Woods has withdrawn from a major as a professional.

 

 

 

He declined interviews after his round, speaking only to a pool reporter. He also made five consecutive bogeys for the first time in a major since turning professional in 1996. Woods only returned to competitive golf at the Masters in April, 14 months after a life-threatening car crash.

 

 

 

DARK HORSE MITO STEALS THE SHOW
 

 

 

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Pereira is a strong favorite to get his first PGA Tour win on Sunday at the PGA Championship. Pereira drained a long birdie putt on the 18th hole to post a third-round 69 on Saturday and move to 9-under. He has a three-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris ahead of the final round and is at +150 to win at BetMGM.

 

 

Pereira is the only golfer to post a score under par in each of the first three rounds of the tournament. The birdie got him to 1-under on the day after shooting a 68 in the first round and a 64 during the second round.

 

 

THE TOP 5 HAVE NEVER WON A MAJOR

 

 

 

 

To view the full leaderboard of Day 3, log on to https://bit.ly/3Pxek16

 

 

None of the players in the top five have won a major. The top major winner in the field is Justin Thomas in a tie for sixth at 3-under. Thomas shot a 73 on Saturday and is at +2500 and the sixth favorite on the board behind Abraham Ancer at +1800. Ancer is alone in fifth at 4-under.

 

 

 

 

 

Rory McIlroy also faded on Saturday and shot a 74 to drop to even par for the tournament. McIlroy had the lead after the first round of the tournament and assumed favorite status after Thursday. He’s now at +8000 to win the tournament.

 

(Media sources)