Max Verstappen roared to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix and jumped above reigning Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton at the top of the drivers' standings.
The Red Bull driver benefited from the shock withdrawal of pole-sitter Charles Leclerc ahead of the race, producing an immaculate drive to stay out of trouble and finish ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
McLaren's Lando Norris completed the podium, securing his second third place of the season, with Sergio Perez, Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly all coming home ahead of Hamilton, who trailed in a distant seventh.
The outcome saw Verstappen, thanks to his first Monaco triumph, move four points in front of Hamilton after five rounds of the 23-race championship. He leads the championship for the first time in his career, a further sign that Hamilton could face a major battle to cling to his crown as he chases a record-breaking eighth title.
Just 20 minutes before the race began, Ferrari dropped the bombshell that Leclerc had been ruled out due to a driveshaft problem.
It was a crushing blow for the Monegasque driver, whose pole was secured in dramatic fashion on Saturday when he crashed his Ferrari in the final minute of qualifying, denying his rivals a clear track and the chance to set a faster time. Leclerc feared gearbox trouble but was initially given the all-clear to race, until he was pulled from the line-up.
What it meant was that Verstappen, second on the grid, had the chance to gain the early ascendancy on the tight circuit where he had never previously achieved a podium finish, and he demonstrated his prowess as a front-runner.
Valtteri Bottas was sitting second when the Finn pitted on the 31st lap, and he joined Leclerc in the bad-luck club when Mercedes were unable to remove his front-right wheel. After a desperate minute of waiting, Bottas climbed out of his car, his race over.
Sebastian Vettel managed to get ahead of Pierre Gasly and Hamilton when the three pitted, the Aston Martin going almost wheel to wheel with Gasly's Alpha Tauri as he completed a stunning overcut.
That moment imperilled Hamilton's leadership of the championship, putting him down in seventh place, as Mercedes suffered a miserable couple of minutes.
It proved the last major twist of the race, with Hamilton securing a bonus point for a late fastest lap. Small consolation on a dismal day for Mercedes, as Verstappen and Perez's performance also saw Red Bull go ahead of the Silver Arrows in the constructors' standings.
Stefanos Tsitsipas teed himself up for the French Open in dominant fashion as he claimed his second title of 2021 with a straight-sets win over Cameron Norrie at the Lyon Open.
Tsitsipas looked sharp throughout the week in central France and was in clinical form on Sunday, pouncing on some minor mistakes from Norrie to triumph 6-3 6-3.
Norrie was by no means an easy opponent, but five double faults handed Tsitsipas an edge he duly made the most of.
This year's Monte Carlo champion had to claw back three break points in the opening game of the match but was firmly in control from then on.
A break to make it 5-3 enabled the Greek to serve for the first set – an opportunity he took at the first time of asking – and another clinical break put him 4-3 up in set two.
Tsitsipas' third and final break came on the second match point on offer, with Norrie overhitting a forehand to seal the world number five's 33rd Tour win of the season.
Having dropped just one set throughout his run this week, Tsitsipas will now switch focus to Roland Garros, where he reached the semi-finals in 2020.
"I felt in a good shape from the beginning of the tournament, felt like things were going my way," he said in a post-match interview.
"I'm proud of today's match. I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron who has played great this week, winning against good players and showing what his left hand can do on clay. I had to handle the nerves and I'm proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused.
"It's about getting there [Paris] as early as possible, getting in practice and getting in shape for the big Parisian grand slam which I adore and love. Hopefully, something good can come out of it."
Charles Leclerc's hopes of finally succeeding at his home grand prix were ended for another year in late, frustrating fashion at Monaco on Sunday.
Leclerc set the fastest time in qualifying but then crashed, cutting short the session to secure pole position yet leaving his Ferrari damaged.
The Scuderia tested Leclerc's gearbox on Saturday and again on Sunday, attempting to avoid a change that would mean giving up their place on the front row with a grid penalty.
The Monegasque star was cleared to take his position on pole less than three hours before the race, but Ferrari's determination not to replace the gearbox seemed to have proved costly.
A driveshaft issue was revealed when running the car, which meant Leclerc was unable to start the race, leaving his precious pole position vacant.
The problem was "impossible to fix in time for the start of the race", Ferrari said just 18 minutes before the scheduled start.
Max Verstappen had a clear run from second on the grid, as Leclerc rued another painful weekend at his home event.
His previous two Monaco appearances saw him fail to finish, although he completed enough of the 2018 grand prix to come 18th. At no other circuit has Leclerc had to retire twice.
The 23-year-old was denied the opportunity to surpass Louis Chiron's result as the best from a Monegasque driver at their home race.
Chiron came third for Maserati in 1950, the first ever Formula One Monaco Grand Prix.
Justin Burrowes extended his lead to 11 strokes on day three of the Alliance National Amateur Golf Championship on Saturday at the Caymanas Golf Club. He shot two under par 70 for a three-day total of 212 (73, 69, 70) and is poised to secure victory when play resumes at 7:30 today.
“Today (Saturday) was another pretty good day. (I) gave myself a lot of opportunities, which is really what I set out to do. It didn't convert as much as I would have liked but still, all in all, I would say a lot more positives than negatives today,” said Burrowes, who started the day with a birdie and followed up with three more on holes 11, 12 and 15 while posting two bogeys on holes 14 and 18.
“In a good place to build on. The course was definitely more inviting today with the softer conditions - no wind and no rain. It was definitely more inviting. I played solid but I didn't hold enough putts today to go really deep so hopefully, I can build on today and do that tomorrow (Sunday)."
Meanwhile, defending champion William Knibbs posted his first under-par score of 70 but is still 11 strokes off the lead. He has a combined score of 223 after posting 74 and 79 on days one and two, respectively.
He expressed satisfaction with the round especially after day two, saying "After yesterday (Friday), I would say that it could have only gotten better today (Saturday) and obviously it was better. Two under but as with most of what I have done this week there were always shots that I felt that I could have done better with or putts that I could have made but I am just happy to have bounced back today."
His scorecard showed one eagle, three birdies and three bogeys.
Dr Mark Newnham, who was in second place on day two, dropped to third after scoring six over par 78 for a three-day total of 228.
Mention must be made of 15-year old Aman Dhiman, who posted the lowest score of the championship so far, a four-under-par 68. He sunk five birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 16 before bogeying the 10th hole.
The perennial ladies’ national champion Jodi Munn-Barrow, who led from day one is again the national champion. The female championships ran over three days and she posted scores of 72, 77 and 74 for a total of 223 to be leagues ahead of second-place Samantha Azan who shot 82 on the final day for a total score of 251. Third place went to Winni Lau. She shot 91 for an overall score of 271.
"Happy with my overall performance today (Saturday). (I) was able to focus and just play the holes as they came, played a shot at a time and happy to finish with two over,” she said.
“Seven over for the three days so I am pleased with the overall performance and happy once again I was able to become the national amateur champion."
The Ladies 13 - 24 category went to Valerie Grant 102 (308) followed by Suzan White 108 (324).
The Men 7-12 category had two golfers with scores of 86 for Thajae Richards for a total of 252 and who still leads Richard White, who shot 89 and now totals 279.
There is a new leader in the Men Senior 0-12 category with former Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron 81 (245), ahead of Tony Allison 83 (245) in second and Vikram Dhuman 78 (245) in third.
The Men Super Senior 0-12 also has a new leader in Mike Boyd 74 (235), followed by George Hugh with an 82 (240) and the day-one leader, former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong shot 81 (240).
The final male category - Men Super Senior 13 and over, with one occupant - Desmond Brown scored 93 for a three-day total of 282.
The juniors who competed over two days which ended on Saturday saw Sebastian Azan copping the Boys 14-15 category with scores of 78 and 81 for a combined score of 159. Ryan Lue took second spot after posting 82 and 79 (161) while Trey Williams was third 87, 79, (161).
Michael Lowe topped the Boys 16-17 category. He had scores of 85 and 87 (172). Zaniel Knight was second with scores of 91 and 89 (180) while Justin Wainwright 116 and 124 (240) was third.
Carmelo Anthony was shocked to face booing from Denver Nuggets fans – before he and the Portland Trail Blazers silenced the home crowd in Game 1 of the playoff series.
Portland scored a 123-109 road win to get the early upper hand in the best-of-seven series.
The Denver fans that once worshipped Anthony got on his back in Saturday's game, jeering the 10-time All-Star who began his career as a teenager with the Nuggets.
"It's cool man. I love them too. I love those guys too," said Anthony afterwards.
"It's been what, almost 10 years now since I've been here. The love is there man. They love me, they hate me. I can't do nothing about that.
"I've just got to go out there and smile, enjoy myself and have fun and play basketball. Whatever they have to say, let them say, it's not my concern."
Asked if he could explain the fans' reaction, Anthony, who scored 18 points, was stumped.
"I don't have that answer. I don't know what it is," he said. "I gave my all here for seven and a half, eight years.
"I never said anything bad about Denver, the fans, the organisation, the players, I never complained. It's like I was birthed here with the Denver Nuggets. I started my career here and this will always be a special place for me."
It was Anthony's first win back in Denver since he departed in February 2011 to join the New York Knicks.
Coming up for his 37th birthday next Saturday, it was high time he tasted that winning feeling back in his one-time home city.
"I didn't even know that, this is the first win since I got traded," Anthony said.
"It's not even something I ever even thought about, to be honest with you.
"Somebody told me that when I was in the locker room after the game but I'll take it. I'll take my first win being Game 1 of the Western Conference playoffs.
"It's a great time to make it happen, get that first win here in Denver."
James Harden said the Brooklyn Nets took "a huge step" by shaking off sketchy offensive form to overcome the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their playoff series.
Brookyln's big three scraped together sufficient points to make it comfortable enough in the end, the home team grabbing a 104-93 win, having trailed 53-47 at halftime.
Kevin Durant had 32 points and 12 rebounds, Kyrie Irving added 29 points and Harden weighed in with 21 as the Nets proved too strong for a Celtics side who had 22 points on six-of-20 shooting from Jayson Tatum.
Harden said: "We just engaged. Everybody that steps on the floor is engaged and pretty much knows what they have to do. So everybody had each other's back.
"No matter what happens offensively, defensively is where we show some improvement and tonight was a huge step for us."
With fans back in Barclays Center, Harden suggested their presence may have been a slight distraction, as might the pressure of starting a playoffs tilt.
But ultimately he settled on it being the players' failure to convert opportunities as the reason the Nets took so long to get going.
"We just didn't make shots. I'm sure if we made shots it would be a different conversation," he said.
Asked about Tatum, Harden said: "He's going to be better in Game 2 and we will too."
Durant reached a similar conclusion to Harden.
"We couldn't make shots, I felt like," Durant said. "When we tried to bust the game open seven or eight points, we got open threes we didn't make. We got our scorers in position, but I know I missed a lot of bunnies that felt good leaving my hand.
"But we stuck with our defense. We didn't let that get in the way of what we wanted to do out there. We helped each other and boxed out well. We've got to keep that same effort going into Game 2."
From 82-79 up, the Nets went on a scoring surge and pulled 99-82 ahead in the fourth quarter, before easing to victory.
Irving, prominent in that dominant run, said: "I just think we needed a little separation, just to settle in for the rest of the game. Fourth quarter, we've had the tendency of taking our foot off the gas pedal, of stopping attacking the rim or settling for jump shots or just not swinging the ball around and making easy plays for one another.
"Obviously we know we have all-world one-on-one players, but we make it a little easy when teams can just load up and our one-on-one game isn't working. You can see anything can happen at the end of the game. Kemba [Walker] hits two big threes, we get a flagrant foul. Anything can happen, especially against the Celtics.
"That lucky Irishman is always around the Celtics, so we've just got to be aware of anything against the Celtics. And I think we did a good job of kind of withstanding their runs down the stretch."
Damian Lillard is used to having the game in his hands, but the Portland Trail Blazers star found another level of control Saturday in a 123-109 playoff win over the Denver Nuggets.
Lillard scored 34 points and had a career playoff high 13 assists to account for 54 per cent of Portland's points in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.
That assist total was the most for a Portland player since Damon Stoudamire had 13 against the Phoenix Suns on May 13, 1999.
The sixth-seeded Blazers set a franchise record for a playoff game in hitting 19 three-pointers, five of them by Lillard, as they opened with a critical road win to boost their chances of taking the series.
"Any time you start a series on the road, you're going into it thinking we need to at least win one -- heading back home we've got to have one of those first two," Lillard told reporters.
"It's a major statement to be able to get the first one."
The Blazers heaped praise on center Jusuf Nurkic, who spent most of the night defending Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
Though Jokic matched Lillard's scoring output with 34, he had only one assist -- a career playoff low.
Lillard told reporters he believes Jokic is the NBA MVP this season, but said the Blazers' focus was on letting him do the work himself rather than distributing to his team-mates.
That formula worked in the series opener, though Lillard expects the competition is "only going to get harder from here."
Added Carmelo Anthony, "I've been here multiple times. We don't want to get too high -- it's just the first game.
"We'll take it, though. It's a big win. Any time you can get Game 1 on the road in the playoffs it's a major win.
"We don't look at it as a steal -- we came in here and we earned this win tonight."
Seven strong innings from Walker Buehler lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-3 victory at San Francisco, pulling the defending World Series champions level with the Giants in the National League West.
Buehler allowed one run while scattering six hits in seven innings of work, improving to 3-0 while lowering his ERA to 2.78.
The Dodgers spoiled the first MLB appearance since September 2016 for Giants starter Scott Kazmir, who allowed only a first-inning solo home run to Max Muncy in four strong innings after being recalled from the minor leagues.
Austin Barnes added a solo homer of his own in the fifth for the Dodgers, who put the game away with four runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
The Dodgers' sixth consecutive win and second in a row against their northern rivals left Los Angeles a game behind the first-place San Diego Padres in the top-heavy division.
Cole silences White Sox
Gerrit Cole was all but untouchable once again, allowing four hits in seven innings as the New York Yankees blanked the Chicago White Sox 7-0 for their fifth win in succession. Gleyber Torres had another big game at the plate for New York, driving in four runs.
A day after hitting a walk-off home run against the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers sensation Adolis Garcia hit two more bombs to help the Rangers to an 8-4 triumph. The second shot tied the game and sparked a five-run seventh inning that provided the winning margin for Texas.
Garrett Cooper hit a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 3-1.
Xander Bogaerts and Danny Santana had back-to-back homers to lead off the sixth inning for the Boston Red Sox in a 4-3 victory ove the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Tampa Bay Rays rallied with runs in the eighth and ninth to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 for their ninth consecutive victory.
Mariners' three errors boost Padres
The Seattle Mariners committed three errors in the fifth inning -- two of them by catcher Tom Murphy -- to help the Padres break open what had been a 1-1 game on the way to a 6-4 San Diego win. The first run of the inning scored when Murphy's throw to third on a Jorge Mateo steal attempt sailed into left field. Later, a bases-loaded single by Eric Hosmer brought home two runs, and a throw home by outfielder Jarred Kelenic went through Murphy's legs, allowing Fernando Tatis Jr to score from first base on the play.
Hernandez gives Cleveland walk-off win
Cesar Hernandez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to give the Cleveland Indians a bounce-back 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Saturday's results
Boston Red Sox 4-3 Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals 12-9 Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees 7-0 Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians 5-3 Minnesota Twins
Miami Marlins 3-1 New York Mets
Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 Cincinnati Reds
Atlanta Braves 6-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Texas Rangers 8-4 Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals 7-5 Detroit Tigers
St Louis Cardinals 2-1 Chicago Cubs
Colorado Rockies 7-6 Arizona Diamondbacks
Oakland Athletics 6-2 Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres 6-4 Seattle Mariners
Rays at Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays (23-21) send ace Hyun Jin Ryu to the mound as they try to avoid a sweep and stop the Tampa Bay Rays' nine-game winning streak. Michael Wacha will come off the injured list to start for the Rays (28-19).
A strong second half sent the sixth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers to a 123-109 victory over the third-seeded Denver Nuggets as the NBA playoffs began Saturday.
Portland outscored Denver 65-48 after the break as Damian Lillard had 34 points and 13 assists for the visitors, who made 18 of 19 free throw attempts to just four of eight for the Nuggets.
CJ McCollum added 21 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 18 in just 22 minutes off the bench for Portland, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers in their playoff opener last season only to lose the next four to the eventual champions.
Their efforts overcame a 34-point, 15-rebound game from Nikola Jokic and 25 points from Michael Porter Jr.
Porter made all 11 of his two-point field goal attempts Saturday but was just one of 10 from three-point range.
Game 2 is Monday in Denver.
Brooklyn's big three carry Nets
Big games from the big three carried the Brooklyn Nets to a 104-93 series-opening win over the Boston Celtics. Kevin Durant had 32 points and 12 rebounds while Kyrie Irving added 29 points and James Harden 21 as the Nets stifled the Celtics, who got 22 points on just six of 20 shooting from Jayson Tatum in a losing effort.
Luka Doncic had his third triple-double in seven career playoff games, scoring 31 points with 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Dallas Mavericks pulled out a 113-103 road win at the Los Angeles Clippers to open their series. Tim Hardaway Jr added 21 points on eight of 13 shooting for the fifth-seeded Mavericks, while Kawhi Leonard had 26 points and Paul George 23 to lead the Clippers.
Butler cannot find the range
Jimmy Butler came close to recording a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the Miami Heat's 109-107 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, but the five-time All-Star made only four of 22 shots from the field.
Middleton gives Bucks win
Khris Middleton's contested jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Bucks the Game 1 win at home. Middleton's 27 points led the Bucks, with Giannis Antetokounmpo adding 26 points and 18 rebounds.
Saturday's results
Milwaukee Bucks 109-107 Miami Heat (OT)
Dallas Mavericks 113-103 Los Angeles Clippers
Brooklyn Nets 104-93 Boston Celtics
Portland Trail Blazers 123-109 Denver Nuggets
Lakers face Suns
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers got the win they needed in the play-in tournament and they will open the playoffs proper with Game 1 of their best-of-seven series against the second-seeded Suns in Phoenix.
Far from feeling the pressure as the NBA playoffs got underway Saturday, Luka Doncic was right back in his comfort zone.
A year after a spectacular showing in a first-round series loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the young Dallas Mavericks star was at his best again as the two teams faced off once again Saturday.
Doncic had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Mavericks took the opening game 113-103 in Los Angeles.
It was the 22-year-old's third triple-double in seven career playoff games -- a first in NBA history.
"Playoffs are fun, and especially they are more fun if you win, obviously," Doncic told reporters after the game. "It's fun basketball."
Particularly when the Slovenian is on his game, as he usually is.
Doncic averaged 31.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists in last year's 4-2 series loss to the Clippers, right in line with his Game 1 showing Saturday.
The Clippers threw a variety of defensive looks his way, but he managed to either find the shot he needed or get the ball to someone else.
"He's a very unique player for a 22-year-old," said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.
"The level of poise that he has, and his ability to slow down the game, to see what's going on -- even when the [shot] clock is at six or seven seconds, he still is able to slow it down and hold that ball just long enough to get a team-mate a great look.
"He was great tonight and I thought his defense was very good, too."
Carlisle also said he thought Doncic was at his best on the kind of stage the playoffs offer.
Asked whether he agreed, Doncic deflected the praise, pointing to his youth.
"I hope I'm at my best, but I think that's far away," he said. "I'm only in my third season, so I've got still a lot to learn.
"We just go out there and have fun and try to win the game."
Phil Mickelson's dream week at the US PGA Championship continued Saturday, putting him in position to become golf's oldest major championship winner.
The 50-year-old survived early on the back nine to shoot 70 and hold a one-stroke lead over Brooks Koepka at seven under par for the tournament.
He knows he does not have many chances left to collect his sixth major title, but he said he's trying to keep his focus on his game rather than thinking about the big-picture implications.
"I think that because I feel or believe that I'm playing really well and I have an opportunity to contend for a major championship on Sunday and I'm having so much fun that it's easier to stay in the present and not get ahead of myself," Mickelson told reporters.
Mickelson opened a gap on the field early on moving day with birdies on four of his first seven holes, then another at the 10th.
"I felt I had a very clear picture on every shot, and I've been swinging the club well, and so I was executing," he said of that stretch. "I just need to keep that picture a few more times."
The picture got a bit fuzzy at 12 and 13, where Mickelson went bogey-double bogey.
He said his focus slipped on those two holes.
"It's just an example of losing the feel and the picture of the shot, and I get a little bit jumpy, a little bit fast from the top, and it just -- when that happens I get narrow and I end up flipping it," he said.
"So those two swings were more a product of not staying or keeping the feel and the focus of the shot. And so that's just a small little thing that I need to iron out."
Mickelson finished the round with five consecutive pars to ensure his place atop the leaderboard heading into Sunday.
His remarkable week has put him in position to surpass Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA at age 48, as the oldest major winner, but Mickelson was in no mood to ponder what he already had accomplished just by getting this far.
"I'm more focused on a few things that I need to work on tonight before tomorrow's round, and I'm not really dwelling back on what took place today," he said.
"I just know I'm having a lot of fun and I'm very appreciative of the way the people have been supportive."
Brooks Koepka is exactly where he expects to be heading into the final round of a major, particularly the US PGA Championship.
After carding a two-under-par 70 on Saturday, Koepka sits one stroke back of leader Phil Mickelson at six under for the tournament, putting him in position to win his fifth major championship.
Considering Koepka has been no worse than tied for fourth after 12 of the last 13 rounds at the PGA, his spot in Sunday's final pairing is familiar territory.
"It just feels good, feels normal," Koepka told reporters after his round.
"It's what you're supposed to do, what you practice for.
"I'm right where I want to be, and we'll see how tomorrow goes.
"Just be within three of the lead going into the back nine and you've got a chance."
Koepka trailed Mickelson by five strokes at one point Saturday but saw the five-time major winner slide back to him on the back nine.
A bogey on 18 denied Koepka a chance to match Mickelson at seven under, but the 2018 and 2019 PGA winner is looking forward to a potential one-on-one showdown in the final round.
"I can see what he's doing, and everybody else is in front of me, so I'll have a good idea on the leaderboard what's going on and just need to putt better -- simple," Koepka said.
"If I strike it anything like I did the last three days, I'll have a chance."
If he can pull it off, Koepka would become the first player to win the same major three times in a four-year stretch since Tom Watson captured the Open Championship title in 1980, 1982 and 1983.
Though the wind that had made scoring difficult at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course the first two days died down a bit Saturday, Koepka anticipates a challenging final round.
"it's a tough golf course," he said. "I thought it definitely played easier for sure, but this golf course you can make one little mistake and it can be costly.
"That's why it's a major championship. I think this place is perfect for it, and it will be fun to watch tomorrow."
Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka both shot 70 Saturday to set up a mouth-watering final pairing at the US PGA Championship.
At seven under par for the tournament, Mickelson holds a one-stroke lead over his countryman entering the final round at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course after saving par on 18 while Koepka bogeyed the last.
The 50-year-old Mickelson is the fourth player aged 50 or older to lead a major after three rounds in the modern era, which began in 1934.
The others were Tom Watson at the 2009 Open Championship, Greg Norman at the 2008 Open, and Julius Boros at the 1973 US Open -- none of whom ended up holding on for the win.
Mickelson has been resilient this week in South Carolina, though, steadying himself Saturday after going bogey-double bogey on 12 and 13 to make par on the final five holes.
While Mickelson's resurgence has excited the fans, Koepka remains a model of consistency at the PGA.
He has finished at least tied for fourth in 12 of the last 13 rounds at the major, and he could become the first player to win the same major three times in a four-year stretch since Watson won the Open in 1980, 1982 and 1983.
Mickelson will be shooting for his sixth major title and first since the 2013 Open, while Koepka seeks his fifth.
Louis Oosthuizen, who shared the lead with Mickelson entering play Saturday, managed just three birdies on the day on the way to an even-par 72 that left him five under for the tournament.
American Kevin Streelman (70) is at four under, while Oosthuizen's South African countrymen Branden Grace and Christiaan Bezuidenhout are at three under after even-par rounds of their own.
Bryson DeChambeau (71) was unable to gain ground on the leaders and enters Sunday five back of Mickelson along with Gary Woodland (72) and Joaquin Niemann (71).
Jordan Spieth matched Billy Horschel for the low round of the day with a 68, and he sits at even par for the tournament along with Rickie Fowler (69) and Keegan Bradley (72).
Reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama fell from contention with a 76, putting him at one over with the likes of Shane Lowry (73), Padraig Harrington (73) and Ian Poulter (73).
Anthony Joshua has been ordered to fight Oleksandr Usyk after hopes for a summer showdown with Tyson Fury faded this week.
The WBO on Saturday sent a letter ordering the unified heavyweight titleholder to fight Usyk (18-0), the sanctioning body's mandatory challenger.
While Joshua (24-1) holds the WBO, IBF and WBA belts, Fury (30-0-1) claimed the WBC title from the previously unbeaten Deontay Wilder (41-1-1) in their February 2020 rematch following a draw in their initial bout.
On Monday, a judge in the United States ruled that the dethroned champion had the right to face the Briton for a third time before September 15.
Two days later, the WBO sent Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn a letter giving him 48 hours to show cause why it should not mandate a title defense against Usyk.
On Friday, Hearn asked the body for an extension until Monday, but the WBO denied that request Saturday.
The WBO gave the Joshua and Usyk camps 10 days to finalise an agreement for a fight, or the body will order a purse bid.
Should that happen, the letter said, Joshua would receive 80 per cent of the minimum $1million bid and Usyk 20 per cent.
Charles Leclerc's chances of starting his home grand prix in pole position appeared to have received a boost on Saturday, with Ferrari finding no gearbox damage in initial checks.
Leclerc took pole for the Monaco Grand Prix in dramatic circumstances earlier in the day when he crashed while top of the timesheets.
The crash forced qualifying to be halted early. Leclerc flicked off one barrier and went hurtling into another just as his rivals – including second-placed Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas in third – seemed ready to mount a challenge in the closing moments of the session.
Leclerc admitted he was worried the impact and the damage to his car may mean its gearbox required replacing, which would see him given a grid penalty.
However, tests conducted by Ferrari found no "serious damage" to the gearbox, though further checks will be carried out on Sunday to ensure it is useable.
This update came after the post-qualifying news conference, in which Leclerc said: "I have mixed feelings a little bit, because with the crash I don’t know where I’m starting tomorrow yet. It depends on the damage on the car."
It was the first time Leclerc had made it to Q3 on his home circuit.
"Well, it didn't feel great to go Q3, as at least we were expecting to go through to Q3," he said.
"It would have been a big disappointment if I was not going into Q3, 2019 was a hard one to take as we definitely had the potential to be up there but we couldn't finalise it after the mistake we have done in Q1. Hopefully we will end up this weekend on a high, which never happened at home."
Meanwhile, two weeks after securing a 100th pole position of his Formula One career, championship leader Lewis Hamilton had to settle for seventh on the grid.
"[The car] didn't feel too bad on Thursday, and then we made some changes and it felt pretty terrible today, so of course we go back to the drawing board," Hamilton said.
"I think from my point I just had such a lack of grip out there, which then leads you to overdrive and start trying to get more from it to no end – it doesn't improve.
"Today was a question of tyres, the tyres were just not working. I was sliding around. I've not spoken to the engineers just yet. Valtteri did a better job at the end of the day."
Hamilton's poor run means that title challenger Verstappen is well placed to take advantage.
"It's always important to score a lot of points, but of course you need to be ahead of your main rivals as much as you can," said the Red Bull driver.
"So today was good – but of course we need to finish that off tomorrow."
Phil Mickelson reached the turn at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course four shots clear of his nearest US PGA Championship rivals, before sinking a birdie on the 10th.
Mickelson – a PGA championship winner in 2005 – was in sensational form in South Carolina over the first two days and carried the same level of performance into Saturday's play.
He was four under through the first eight holes, though did make his first mistake of the day on the ninth, dropping his drive short and left of the green, but recovered to make par.
That had him on 32 through nine, with Louis Oosthuizen, tied for second on five under, going through in 36.
Tied with Oosthuizen were Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Branden Grace, while Brooks Koepka was at four under when reaching the turn, but nosed himself up to T2 with a 12-foot putt.
But the chasing pack were further behind when Mickelson rolled a birdie putt in on the 10th to move to 10 under.
Paula Badosa continued her fine season with a victory at the Serbia Open, having also reached her maiden WTA singles final on Saturday.
Badosa had to play two matches on Saturday, first progressing to the final by beating lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova 6-1 6-2.
The Spaniard's straight-sets win took only 63 minutes, so she still had plenty in reserve heading into the showdown with qualifier Ana Konjuh, but Badosa did ultimately not need the energy.
She was 6-2 2-0 up when Konjuh – who defeated Maria Camila Osorio Serrano earlier on Saturday – retired due to a right hip injury, sealing Badosa's triumph.
Badosa, 23, rounded off a successful week without having dropped a set. She had previously reached two semi-finals in her last two tournaments – in Charleston and Madrid, both against Ash Barty.
Toulouse won a record fifth European Champions Cup and their first since 2010 thanks to a 22-17 win over La Rochelle, who played much of the match a man light.
Both sides traded penalty blows during a feisty opening at Twickenham, with the scores level at 6-6 in the 27th minute thanks to Ihaia West's successful kick for La Rochelle.
But they suffered a massive setback just a few moments later as Levani Botia floored Maxime Medard with an ugly high hit.
As Botia walked off towards the sin-bin, the television match official ensured his punishment was upgraded to a red card, the first ever in a Champions Cup final.
Yet La Rochelle made it to the break with a 12-9 lead, with West's four kicks to Romain Ntamack's three the difference after a compelling – albeit brutal – first half.
West missed the target early in the second half, though, and Ntamack again evened the score as Toulouse started to up the ante.
La Rochelle were putting up a good fight with their 14 men but Toulouse finally got the match's first try with an hour played, Juan Cruz Mallia going over out wide after being fed by Selevasio Tolofua.
Toulouse looked to be coasting home as they went 22-12 up with the conversion, though a Tawera Kerr-Barlow try with five minutes to go made life a little nervy.
However, Toulouse held on to seal their fifth European crown and surpass Leinster on four, with La Rochelle's maiden appearance in a final ending in disappointment.
Rising star Casper Ruud continued his impressive 2021 with a straight-sets win over Denis Shapovalov in the Geneva Open final to win his second career title.
The world number 21 prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the first top-level meeting between the two players to add to the Argentina Open crown won – also on clay – in February 2020.
Ruud did not face a single break point in the match, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, and needed only one break conversion himself to see off second seed Shapovalov.
"It's tough to find all the words," said Ruud, who has a 15-4 record on clay this year.
"It was such an amazing week here in Geneva. I was always looking forward to coming to this tournament.
"I watched it on TV for many years when I was younger and it always seemed like a nice place, so I guess I know why I wanted to come here.
"It's been going well and this week has been unbelievable for me."
Looking to lay down a marker ahead of the upcoming French Open, where he reached the third round last year, third seed Ruud took little time to get going against Shapovalov.
However, the first set went the way of the serve to set up a tie-break, which the Norwegian eventually took with his fifth set point after Shapovalov won four points in a row.
Shapovalov was competing in his third tour-level final after winning the Stockholm Open and losing in the Paris Masters final in 2019, but he struggled to break his opponent.
Ruud earned a break in the fifth game of the second set and saw the job through to keep his momentum going ahead of the second grand slam of the year.
Asked about his aims for Roland Garros, Ruud said: "Well, it's the toughest clay court tournament of the year.
"This season I am playing well on the clay and I'm looking forward to Paris. I hope I can make the second week, that's all I can say.
"If I'm in the second week I will be very happy of course."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
