CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Alex Noren finally made his way back to tournament golf after seven months away because of a hamstring tear. One week later, the Swede is in the final group at the PGA Championship alongside the world's No. 1 player. Noren last played the Dunhill Links Championship on Oct. 6. Instead of closing down the practice range every night, he spent his time at home coaching his daughter's softball team. "It was a lot easier to have this break when I'm 42 than when I was younger," Noren said. "As soon as I kind of could play, I thought I was in sort of the same form I was in before I got injured. But I'm still extremely — not surprised — but I'm fortunate to be in this position this early, yeah." He got there with a burst at the finish, four birdies over his last five holes, for a 66 that gave him the lead until Scottie Scheffler played a closing stretch equally impressive. Noren, a 10-time winner on the European Tour after a college career at Oklahoma State, has only two top 10s in the majors and has never seriously contended. The injury involved a torn tendon in his hamstring on the sit bone. It was a tough injury because it requires so much time to heal. He couldn't swing a club. He couldn't run or jump, but he otherwise lived a normal life spending time with his family. That was nice. "It's good to take a break sometimes," said Noren, who has a reputation as among the hardest workers in golf. "I missed it, but I also liked what I had at the time, which helps me maybe realize a little bit that I don't think it's the end of the world if you play bad." Fitzpatrick falters Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is in a drought that has seen him go 20 straight tournaments without a top 10 dating to the Memorial last year, so it was worth noting that he worked his way into a tie for the lead at the PGA Championship. He even had a 12-foot birdie putt for the lead on No. 12 and winced when it narrowly missed. And then two holes set him back. He three-putted on the par-3 13th from down the slope 45 feet away. On the reachable 14, he drove right in thick grass on the hill leaving a delicate chip. He left that in the rough. The next one raced across the green into more rough. Fitzpatrick had to get up-and-down with a 5-foot putt to make bogey on the easiest hole at Quail Hollow on Saturday. He wound up six shots behind and looking at the big picture. "I made big steps in where I've been over the last four or five months, so happy I'm up front," he said. "Always a day you like to go forward but not ideal." Open qualifying The final round of the PGA Championship will have big ramifications for the final two majors of the year. The top 60 in the world ranking published Monday will be exempt from U.S. Open qualifying. The top 50 are exempt from the British Open. Jacob Bridgeman was at No. 60 coming into Quail Hollow and missed the cut, which could cost him. The next six players behind him not only made the cut, players like Si Woo Kim, Matthieu and Joe Highsmith (No. 69) go into the final round within touch of the lead. Pavon is already in the U.S. Open but could still bump out Bridgeman. The U.S. Open also takes the top 60 in the world in two weeks after the Memorial. The British Open has one cutoff for the top 50. Davis Thompson is at No. 50 and missed the cut, and could get passed. He can only wait and hope. Boost in prize money The PGA Championship bumped its purse by $500,000 to $19 million, third-highest among the three U.S. majors. The Masters last month raised its purse by $1 million to $21 million. The U.S. Open will announced its purse next month at Oakmont. It was $21.5 million in 2024. The British Open was $17 million last year and its prize fund has yet to be announced. The winner of the PGA Championship gets $3.42 million. The last time it was at Quail Hollow in 2017, the purse was $10.5 million and Justin Thomas won $1.89 million. This year, the runner-up will get just over $2 million. Hometown flavor Duke alum Alex Smalley gave his home state fans something to cheer the opening two rounds. Ben Griffin from Chapel Hill was in the mix. And on Saturday it was J.T. Poston's turn. He played bogey-free over the last 15 holes and finished with a 30-foot birdie on the 18th hole for a 68, leaving him four shots behind and in the penultimate group. Poston already has experience winning before a home state crowd, having won the Wyndham Championship for his first PGA Tour title. "I love playing in front of the home crowd. I think I definitely can feed off of some of that momentum and people pulling for me," Poston said. "I'm sure tomorrow will be no different than it has been every other day this week." ___ AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf
