2012 PGA Championship: Favorable Conditions Sunday At Kiawah But Phil Mickelson Begins With Bogey

The Sunday final round is under way at Kiawah Island, with the PGA of America utilizing split tees in the hopes of wrapping up a long day of golf and hand out the Wanamaker Trophy around 7 p.m. ET.

Sunday afternoon should provide favorable scoring conditions at The Ocean Course, which has dramatic swings in degree of difficulty depending on the weather and the wind. The wind is relatively down and the greens should be soft and receptive after Mother Nature dumped another rainstorm on Kiawah Saturday afternoon.

With the final tee times finishing up their prep on the range, the players already out on the course are taking advantage of those scoring conditions. Pete Dye lets you ease into the colossus that is The Ocean Course with a couple good birdie opportunities at the start. Euros Miguel Angel Jimenez and Justin Rose are two players who have taken advantage early on, with both playing the first three holes in 3-under to move into the red for the championship. The Mechanic made his early push by sinking his second shot at the par-4 third for an eagle, which backed up his birdie on the par-5 second hole. Rose, who lit it up early on Saturday, carded birdies on the first three holes to move to 1-under.

Phil Mickelson is one player who was unable to take advantage of the birdie chances at the beginning. He started his final round with a costly bogey at the first. He quickly got it back on track with a must-make birdie on the par-5, but he’s still eight shots back of leader Rory McIlroy with only 15 holes left to gain ground.

For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.

For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation’s golf hub.