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Round 3 Recap: A Different Kind of Moving Day
By Keith Stewart, PGA
Published on
Hannah Green of Australia hits her shot from the fairway on the 17th hole during the third round for the 2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club on June 25, 2022 in Bethesda, Maryland.Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images
Thousands of fans walked away from Saturday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with one thought in mind, Congressional Country Club is a “major” test. Known as moving day, the changes on the scoreboard were quite different from what we may have expected.
Of the 26 players who started Saturday under par, only three were able to break par in the third round.
To the casual TV observer, we wonder what was different for the top players. Weren’t they playing the same course that they played on Thursday and Friday? They were, but golf course setup plays a significant role in determining difficulty. Saturday’s setup reflected the magnitude of the moment. This is a major championship and the design strategy of the day reflected it.
The course played the shortest of the three rounds, but the difficulty came from the hole locations. On the front nine, the pins averaged 6.8 yards from the edges. The back nine was even closer at 6.7 yards.
As an amateur, hole locations don’t always play a huge role in our preparation. We cannot help but be distracted by the flag. It grabs our attention on every approach shot.
To avoid some of the issues we create for ourselves, take a moment, and review a quick guide for finding the right target when hitting your approach.
- Take your first look at the approach and find the trouble around your target.
- Determine the worst place to miss.
- Pick a target to land your ball on the green as far from there as possible.
- Take out your rangefinder or GPS.
- In line with the target landing area find the front yardage of the green. (What is my minimum carry to get there?)
- Get the yardage to the back of the green in line with the landing area.
- Once you set your landing area distances, setup and swing!
The average golfer should try to hit away from major trouble. That’s your first and only priority. Big scores come from finding bunkers and penalty areas. Don’t get tricked by the pin. Rather, get your ball safely on the green. Follow these steps each time and your moving day will always head in a positive direction.
An overview of the 18th hole during the third round for the 2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club on June 25, 2022 in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images)
The 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is officially underway. For complete Round 4 coverage, tune into NBC from 1:00 to 4:00 pm EDT Sunday. Complete coverage is provided at kpmgwomenspgachampionship.com.
