Jhonattan Vegas battles fatigue for solid PGA Championship round
Despite a rough night’s sleep and early start, Jhonattan Vegas grinds through for a strong second round at the PGA Championship.
PGA TOUR
Jhonattan Vegas finished his second round of the PGA Championship as the front-runner after shooting an 8-under par 71.
He is the first player from Venezuela to lead/co-lead at any major event, according to ESPN. He’s a 4-time PGA Tour winner, with his last coming at the 3M Open in 2024, but has zero top-20 finishes in his previous 16 major starts.
Vegas is scheduled to start his third round at the first hole at 2:45 p.m. ET. Matthieu Pavon will join him in the last group. Pavon is in a tie for second along with Matt Fitzpatrick and Si Woo Kim, who all shot 6-under-par.
Kim had a hole-in-one on six, a hole that measures 252 yards, on Friday.
Max Greyserman and Sam Burns will be the first group on the course at 8:15 a.m. ET. Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele will begin at 8:25 a.m.
Follow along as USA TODAY Sports hits the highlights of Saturday’s third round:
PGA Championship 2025 leaderboard1. Jhonattan Vegas: -8 (F)T2. Matthieu Pavon: -6 (F)T2. Matt Fitzpatrick: -6 (F)T2. Si Woo Kim: -6 (F)T5. Max Homa: -5 (F)T5. Scottie Scheffler: -5 (F)T7. Christiaan Bezuidenhout: -4 (F)T7. Sam Stevens: -4 (F)T7. Denny McCarthy: -4 (F)T7. Garrick Higgo: -4 (F)T7. Michael Thorbjornsen: -4 (F)T7. J.T. Poston: -4 (F)T7. Robert MacIntyre: -4 (F)T7. Ryan Fox: -4 (F)T7. Alex Smalley: -4 (F)T7. Ryan Gerard: -4 (F)
You can get latest leaderboard updates and tee times here.
United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley received loud applause as he teed off for the third round. Bradley is 2-under and tied for 27th heading into this round of the PGA Championship.
Round 3 has begun with Joaquin Niemann (-1), Tyrrell Hatton (-1), and Wyndham Clark (-1) teeing off.
Where to watch the PGA Championship: TV channel, streaming Saturday
The 2025 PGA Championship will be broadcast by ESPN and CBS for the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. ESPN+ and Fubo will have streaming coverage of all four rounds at the PGA Championship, while viewers can stream the action on Paramount+ during the weekend coverage.
Saturday-Sunday: 8-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1-7 p.m. (CBS, Paramount +) and Fubo (Fubo offers a free trial subscription)
Watch the 2025 PGA Championship with Fubo
According to the Weather Channel, Saturdays will begin with partly cloudy skies in the morning, transitioning to occasional showers in the afternoon. The high temperature is expected to reach 87 degrees, with winds ranging from 10 to 20 mph. The chance of showers throughout the day is 40%.
The PGA has announced that Round 3 tee times will start from 11:43 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. Here are the updated tee times:
All times Eastern.
11:43 a.m. (Hole 1): Joaquin Niemann (-1), Tyrrell Hatton (-1), Wyndham Clark (-1)11:48 a.m. (Hole 10): Rafael Campos (-1), Matt Wallace (-1), Tom McKibbin (-1)11:54 a.m. (Hole 1): Keegan Bradley (-2), Marco Penge (-2), Lucas Glover (-1)11:59 a.m. (Hole 10): Beau Hossler (-1), Luke Donald (-1), Corey Conners (-1)12:05 p.m. (Hole 1): Viktor Hovland (-2), Tommy Fleetwood (-2), Jon Rahm (-2)12:10 p.m. (Hole 10): Nicolai Hojgaard (-1), Harry Hall (-1), Austin Eckroat (E)12:16 p.m. (Hole 1): Cam Davis (-2), Adam Scott (-2), Joe Highsmith (-2)12:21 p.m. (Hole 10): Byeong Hun An (E), Collin Morikawa (E), Cameron Young (E)12:27 p.m. (Hole 1): Tony Finau (-3), Ben Griffin (-3), Eric Cole (-2)12:32 p.m. (Hole 10): Daniel Berger (E), Brian Campbell (E), Taylor Moore (E)12:38 p.m. (Hole 1): Davis Riley (-3), Alex Noren (-3), Ryo Hisatsune (-3)12:43 p.m. (Hole 10): Nico Echavarria (E), Harris English (E), Stephan Jaeger (E)12:49 p.m. (Hole 1): Taylor Pendrith (-3), Bryson DeChambeau (-3), Richard Bland (-3)12:54 p.m. (Hole 10): Rasmus Hojgaard (E), Thorbjorn Olesen (E), Maverick McNealy (E)1:00 p.m. (Hole 1): Garrick Higgo (-4), J.J. Spaun (-3), Aaron Rai (-3)1:05 p.m. (Hole 10): Justin Lower (E), Tom Kim (+1), Sergio Garcia (+1)1:11 p.m. (Hole 1): Sam Stevens (-4), Denny McCarthy (-4), Ryan Gerard (-4)1:16 p.m. (Hole 10): Brian Harman (+1), Elvis Smylie (+1), Kevin Yu (+1)1:22 p.m. (Hole 1): Alex Smalley (-4), J.T. Poston (-4), Robert MacIntyre (-4)1:27 p.m. (Hole 10): David Puig (+1), Bud Cauley (+1), Michael Kim (+1)1:33 p.m. (Hole 1): Michael Thorbjornsen (-4), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (-4), Ryan Fox (-4)1:38 p.m. (Hole 10): Chris Kirk (+1), Rory McIlroy (+1), Xander Schauffele (+1)1:44 p.m. (Hole 1): Si Woo Kim (-6), Max Homa (-5), Scottie Scheffler (-5)1:44 p.m. (Hole 10): Max Greyserman (+1), Sam Burns (+1)1:44 p.m. (Hole 1): Jhonattan Vegas (-8), Matthieu Pavon (-6), Matt Fitzpatrick (-6)
Play was suspended just as the first players were getting set to tee for the third round Saturday morning, with dangerous weather present at Quail Hollow.
PGA Championship tee times today
Notable tee times. For a full list of tee times, you can find Saturday’s starts here.
*All times listed are Eastern
Saturday tee times, pairings
The PGA Championship has completed two rounds and the cut. Here are the tee times and pairings for Saturday’s third round:
All times Eastern.
8:15 a.m.: Max Greyserman, Sam Burns8:25 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele8:35 a.m.: Michael Kim, Chris Kirk8:45 a.m.: David Puig, Bud Cauley8:55 a.m.: Elvis Smylie, Kevin Yu9:05 a.m.: Sergio Garcia, Brian Harman9:15 a.m.: Justin Lower, Tom Kim9:25 a.m.: Thorbjørn Olesen, Maverick McNealy9:35 a.m.: Stephan Jaeger, Rasmus Højgaard9:45 a.m.: Nico Echavarria, Harris English9:55 a.m.: Brian Campbell, Taylor Moore10:15 a.m.: Cameron Young, Daniel Berger10:25 a.m.: An Byeong-hun, Collin Morikawa10:35 a.m.: Harry Hall, Austin Eckroat10:45 a.m.: Corey Conners, Nicolai Højgaard10:55 a.m.: Beau Hossler, Luke Donald11:05 a.m.: Matt Wallace, Tom McKibbin11:15 a.m.: Wyndham Clark, Rafael Campos11:25 a.m.: Joaquin Niemann, Tyrell Hatton11:35 a.m.: Marco Penge, Lucas Glover11:45 a.m.: Jon Rahm, Keegan Bradley11:55 a.m.: Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood12:15 p.m.: Adam Scott, Joe Highsmith12:25 p.m.: Eric Cole, Cam Davis12:35 p.m.: Tony Finau, Ben Griffin12:45 p.m.: Alex Noren, Ryo Hisatsune12:55 p.m.: Richard Bland, Davis Riley1:05 p.m.: Taylor Pendrith, Bryson DeChambeau1:15 p.m.: J.J. Spaun, Aaron Rai1:25 p.m.: Ryan Gerard, Garrick Higgo1:35 p.m.: Sam Stevens, Denny McCarthy1:45 p.m.: J.T. Poston, Robert MacIntyre2:05 p.m.: Ryan Fox, Alex Smalley2:15 p.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Christiaan Bezuidenhout2:25 p.m.: Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler2:35 p.m.: Matt Fitzpatrick, Kim Si Woo2:45 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Matthieu PavonPGA Championship predictions and picks
Experts made their picks ahead of the tournament:
NBC Sports: Bryson DeChambeau
Ryan Lavner writes, “Bryson DeChambeau. There’s no one on the planet – not Rory, not Scottie – who is driving the ball as well as DeChambeau is at the moment. And it’s difficult to conjure up a more perfect venue for him, a 7,600-yard behemoth that will play even longer after the heavy rain and place a premium on finding the fairways and avoiding the wet, dense rough. DeChambeau’s iron play continues to be a question mark – it’s the only reason he didn’t win the Masters last month – but his short game and putting remains tidy enough to give him a significant advantage. If he continues to drive the ball like he has for the past year-plus, this is a great opportunity for him to knock off major No. 3.”
BetMGM: Bryson DeChambeau
“Including a near miss at Augusta National this past weekend, DeChambeau has now recorded four top-10s in his last five major championships. Over his last nine major championships, DeChambeau owns five top-10s and four top-5s. One such success came last year at Valhalla, the most correlative course to Quail Hollow, per datagolf.com.”
Gambling Nerd: Scottie Scheffler
“Despite never winning the event, Scheffler has finished in the top 10 in four of his five PGA Championship appearances … Scheffler will solidify his standing at the top of the world rankings with a win at Quail Hollow Club this year.”
Newsweek: Rory McIlroy
“Scheffler may lead the odds to win, but McIlroy’s track record at Quail Hollow can’t be overlooked. The Northern Irishman has won four of his 12 appearances in the Wells Fargo Championship (now the Truist Championship) there, to go with five other top 10s. Add to that the level of play he has displayed this season (three wins, one major).”
