Peter Hanson admitted it was going to be a case of all-out attack in the benign conditions on Kiawah Island as the Swede heads into the final round of the US PGA Championship just five shots back.
Resuming his third round at 0743 on Sunday morning having made birdie at the 12th in what was his final hole before the day was postponed on Saturday, Hanson got off to a slow start as he failed to get up and down at the 13th after coming up short of the par four’s green but the 34 year old steadied the ship with pars at the following two holes.
Hanson got up and down from the left side greenside bunker to make birdie at the par five 16th and move back to two under par for the tournament.
The Ryder Cup star exhibited his scrambling skill once again on the penultimate hole of the round to make par at the 17th and Hanson eventually signed for a two under par 70 that left him tied for sixth with 18 holes remaining of the last Major Championship of the year.
“It was nice, great conditions this morning, so I was trying to take advantage of that,” said Hanson. “I gave myself a few chances but didn't really convert on the good ones I had. But I’m still pretty happy about my game, so feeling good ahead of the fourth round.”
With the winds nowhere near as influential as in previous days, Hanson acknowledged that the conditions had a defining impact on his game plan on Sunday afternoon.
“It's playing soft, and we've not got much wind,” he continued. “The course is there to be had. If you take advantage of it you're going to give yourself quite a few chances compared to the last couple days where it was really hard to get close to the pin.
“But I think if it stays like it is now then there's going to be some really low scores.
“I think game plan wise it is going to be similar this afternoon. I don't think there's too many different ways to play the course with it being so soft. I think everybody is going to be playing pretty aggressive no matter what.”
Having already been firmly in contention at a Major Championship this year, when he led into the final round at the Masters Tournament before eventually finishing tied for third, Hanson said he was feeling back to his best after a lean few months.
“I'm excited to be back. It’s been a bit of a slow summer so it's just nice to be back and feeling a little bit more in control of your game and when the ball is coming out on pretty much the line you want you get a bit more excited.”
Hanson tees off at 1325 local time alongside a pair with six US PGA Championships between them: Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh.
