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Chilean Mito Pereira appears during his performance in the third round del PGA Championship.
In his second participation in a Grand Slam, the Chilean golfer Mito Pereira took the this Saturday the lead of the PGA Championship with a brilliant start to the third round, while Tiger Woods lived on. one of the worst days of his career in a & # 39; Major & # 39 ;.
Pereira, number 100 in the PGA ranking and without any title in his record, was breaking all odds in Southern Hills (Tulsa, Oklahoma) by leading the table with an accumulated eight under par and a two-shot advantage over the American Bubba Watson, his main pursuer.
The last player who conquered his first PGA trophy in a Grand Slam was England’s Danny Willett at the Augusta Masters in 2016.
Pereira, 27, had only previously contested one &# 39;Major’, the 2019 United States Open, in which he did not arrive. to the weekend when the cut failed.
This Saturday, the golfer from Santiago He spent the day in second place, one shot behind American Will Zalatoris, but he adapted. much better than the rainy field conditions, which took its toll on most players.
Zalatoris, number 30 in the PGA and without any trophies in his display case either, paid for the money. He took the pressure off by bogeying on his first hole and another three on completing his first nine.
Missing three affordable putts, the American allowed up the pressure. Pereira quickly overtook him with two birdies in the first five holes.
Seeing the debacle of his groupmate, Pereira holed out. He hit a 35-foot birdie putt on the second hole that gave him a burst of confidence, though he dropped back later. The piston with two consecutive bogeys on holes eight and nine.
Two shots away from the Chilean was Bubba Watson, two-time winner of the Augusta Masters, with -6 in nine holes.< /p>
Zalatoris was three strokes away and Justin Thomas and Cameron Young, also from the United States, were four.
Tiger in doubt for Sunday
Tiger Woods, on the other hand, lived on Saturday a nightmarish day with a result of 79 strokes, nine over par.
The 46-year-old American star battled hard. against exhaustion and the rainy conditions of the Southern Hills course until committing seven bogeys, five of them in a row for the first time in a ‘Major’ tournament.
Tiger finished recording his worst finish in a round of the PGA Championship, the second event he has competed in since his February 2021 car accident, but was left behind. down from his worst day at a Grand Slam, which is still 81 (+10) from the 2002 British Open.
“I didn’t do anything right. I did not hit lots of good shots. Consequently, I ended up with a fairly high score, “he lamented. Woods, who was left behind. with an accumulated 222 strokes (+12) after 54 holes.
With few hours to recover from the strenuous effort on Friday, when he finished Struggling the day to make it through the cut, Tiger had to get back into his work suit from early on Saturday, this time to salvage his prestige.
Winner of 15 trophies from Grand Slam had expressed a wish for the weekend to be as hot as possible, but what was found it was a cloudy sky, a temperature of 13º and a wet and slippery field.
His worst moment came on the sixth hole, where he sent The ball hit the water again and then it ran aground. in the tall grass of the rough until committing a devastating triple bogey. He produced an unprecedented five consecutive bogeys between the ninth and thirteenth holes.
Woods made gestures of disbelief and a few helpless smiles, while a crowd of fans did not stop encouraging him.
On the 15th hole he left one of the few signs of his talent when he signed his only birdie with a spectacular putt of 10.9 meters.
Tiger closed & oacute; His course with three holes in par that left him in the group in last place in the classification, 20 shots away from Pereira.
When asked ; if he will dispute Sunday’s final round, Woods replied, “Well, I’m sore. That’s a fact. We’ll do some work and see how it goes.”
Woods requires physical therapy and ice baths after each round to recover from the aftermath of the multiple fractures he sustained during the round. in the right leg in the collision.
Another of the figures that also crashed into the car on Saturday before the hardness of the field was the Spanish Jon Rahm, who finished with 76 strokes (+6).
The number two in the world ranking dropped 24 positions to 65th. place after a round with six bogeys and no birdies.