LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s fitting that Valhalla Golf Club is just a 20-minute drive or so from Churchill Downs, where they just ran the Kentucky Derby a few weeks ago.
Because Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship will resemble a horse race of the highest order, with some of the best players in the world at the starting gate with a serious chance to win.
Xander Schauffele, who’s had a piece of the lead after all three rounds, is tied with Collin Morikawa at the top at 15-under par.
Schauffele shot a 3-under-par 68 in Saturday’s third round and Morikawa shot 67.
They’re one shot better than Sahith Theegala, who’s 14-under after shooting 67, and two shots clear of Shane Lowry (62), Viktor Hovland (66) and Bryson DeChambeau (67).
Justin Rose (64 on Saturday) and Robert McIntyre (66) are three shots off the lead at 12-under.
Six players are within two strokes of the lead entering the final round.
Gentlemen, start your engines.
Oops, wrong sport.
Either way, Sunday is almost guaranteed to be a barn burner in horse country.
“There’s blood in the water,’’ Shauffele said, referencing that he was certain players would be coming after him Saturday.
Schauffele, who hasn’t won since 2022 and is still seeking his first major championship despite playing extremely well in them during his career, called Sunday “another Sunday,’’ as if he was trying to talk himself into not feeling the nerves in the gravity of the moment.
Schauffele is one week removed from looking like he was going to go wire-to-wire and win the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow … only to have it ripped from him by a remarkable Rory McIlroy final round.
“I typically love Sundays,’’ Schauffele said. “I think I need to really just stay in my lane and do a lot of what I’ve been doing and just worry about myself.’’
Asked if he’d rather be the player chasing on a Sunday or the player being chased, Schauffele said, “You want the lead. Against these guys, you want as many shots as you can possibly take, no matter how nerve-racking it can be.’’
Schauffele, who’s had at least a piece of the lead after every round, leaked a couple of those precious strokes away on the 15th hole Saturday with a damaging double-bogey that turned into a three-shot swing with Morikawa carding birdie on the hole to take the lead at 14-under at the time.
Morikawa is seeking his third career major championship, having won the 2020 PGA and the 2021 British Open. Like Schauffele, though, he’ll walk to the first tee with demons he’ll need to put to rest.
Morikawa was in contention at the Masters last month with a real chance to win, and he shot 74 in the final round with debilitating double-bogeys on Nos. 9 and 11.
He conceded afterward that he got “greedy’’ on 11 trying to hit the green and rinsing his ball in Rae’s Creek instead of playing it more conservatively.
“I’m going to tap in just kind of that mental state I’ve been in, not only those two [wins in majors], but in other tournaments I’ve played well in,’’ Morikawa said. “I think the goal for me … before my tee time is just to be as mentally sharp by that first hole.
“Looking back at a month ago at Augusta, I felt sharp in everything, but I feel like I could have had a little bit of self-talk before I went out on that first tee and really just not got ahead of myself. Not that I did, but two holes really cost me back there.
“Tomorrow is just going to put everything I have out there and see how it plays out.’’
Morikawa sounded a lot like Schauffele when he talked about his plan for Sunday.
“I’ve just got to be focused on myself,’’ he said. “Look, I’ve played against all these guys. It’s not like any of these guys are new. They all have their accolades within themselves, and really anyone can go low.
“But I’m going to put everything I have. I learned a lot over this past month, over these past two years, over the past five years of being a pro, and [I’m] really just going to have a talk with myself.
“Everything that I’ve gone through over the past couple years, I’m ready for these moments. A month ago, I felt like I was ready. Made a couple errors. Tomorrow hopefully we’re not.’’
