The 23-year-old from Bangkok fired a three-under par 67 Saturday to share second on five-under 205 entering Sunday’s final round at firm and dry Bethpage Black.

“On Monday, it was raining. Tuesday was raining. The course plays so tough because the rough was so long. The ball don’t go anywhere,” Jazz said.

“I was having a nightmare. How am I going to play this golf course? I’m not going to break 80.”

Jazz shattered that idea, and while his 54-hole total is seven strokes behind leader Brooks Koepka, this week is already a success.

“This exceeds my expectation already,” Jazz said.

Jazz, who won January’s Singapore Open and stands second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, plays in Sunday’s penultimate group alongside Luke List, whose hometown is the same as the Masters — Augusta, Georgia.

Jazz, whose only other US event was the 2017 US PGA Colonial in Texas, is loving the vocal New York crowds.

“People keep shouting love you. They love me here,” Jazz said. “Trying to say my last name. I heard all sorts. Some pretty good ones. I heard some really funny ones. So keep it coming.”

Jazz, who missed last year’s British Open cut in his only prior major, turned professional at 14 in order to play more events.

“In Asia, we struggle to get a good amateur event. We don’t have it there,” Jazz said. “I play some over here, and it’s amazing.

“Back in Thailand, back in Asia, we don’t have that. We play once a month. Once a month is good. Sometimes we don’t have it for three or four months.

“So turning pro is kind of like getting yourself into more tournaments but you’re not really playing it. You still feel like an amateur playing.”

Jazz ranks 16th on the qualifying list for this December’s Presidents Cup matches in Melbourne, when a US squad captained by Tiger Woods takes on an Internationals (non-European) team guided by South Africa’s Ernie Els.

With a strong PGA showing likely to vault him up the point list, Jazz might find himself going against Masters champion and 15-time major winner Woods before the year is over.

Woods, 43, won his first major title at the Masters in 1997 — when Jazz was just 17 months old. Woods’ mother, Kultida, was born and grew up in Thailand before moving to the US in her mid-20s.

“It’s on the back of my mind for sure,” Jazz said. “I played with Ernie a couple weeks back and he just told me to keep playing good. So I’ll see about that.”

Third-ranked Koepka, in prime position for his fourth major title, fired a level-par 70 at Bethpage Black to stand on 12-under 198 entering Sunday’s final round.

“I feel confident. I feel good. I feel excited,” Koepka said. “It’s nice to have a seven-shot cushion. Just hit the center of the greens and try to par this place to death.

“(I’ll) just stick to my routine, do what I’m doing. I’m not thinking of seven-shot lead, winning the tournament. I’m thinking of what I need to do on the first shot first tee.”

The 29-year-old American owned a record edge over a pack on 205 that included top-ranked Dustin Johnson, fellow Americans Harold Varner and Luke List and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond.

“It’s going to take something special to catch Brooks,” Johnson said. “But it’s definitely do-able on this course.”

The best final-round comeback by a PGA winner was seven strokes by John Mahaffey in 1978.

“We’re all pretty much playing for second,” List said.

Matt Wallace, trying to become the first Englishman to win the PGA since Jim Barnes in 1919, shot 70 to share sixth on 206 with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

No one in major golf history fired a lower 36-hole score than Koepka’s 12-under 128, and his seven-stroke advantage was the second-largest major halfway lead, trailing only Henry Cotton’s nine-shot edge in the 1934 British Open.

If Koepka does capture the Wanamaker Trophy and the $1.98 million (1.77 million euros) top prize, he will be the first man to own back-to-back titles at two majors simultaneously. Koepka seeks a third consecutive US Open crown next month at Pebble Beach.

“He’s definitely, in these events, playing on a different level than most anyone else,” four-time major winner Rory McIlroy said of Koepka. “It’s awesome. It’s so good. It’s great to watch.”

– Koepka grinds well –

Koepka’s routine tee blast and wedge approach made him a threat when he found the fairway. He missed a six-foot birdie putt at the first but sank a five-footer at the second and a three-footer at the fifth to reach 14-under and lead by eight.

From there, Koepka grinded through troubles with success to sustain his huge lead.

Koepka found tall weeds and greenside rough at the seventh but rescued par by sinking a nine-foot putt and saved par again after missing the green at the par-3 eighth.

Then came Koepka’s worst slip of the week, a botched tap-in to bogey nine and a missed fairway to bogey at 10.

Koepka went into trees and dense rough at the par-5 13th but responded by blasting out to 16 feet and curled in a birdie putt but made a final bogey at 16.

“I left a bunch of putts short,” Koepka said. “I’m pleased I’m stroking it well. Just need to hit them a little harder.”

The PGA’s largest prior 54-hole lead was five strokes, last achieved by Ray Floyd in 1982. The low 54-hole tournament score remains 196 by David Toms in 2001.

Koepka owns the PGA 18-, 36- and 72-hole scoring records.

American Jordan Spieth, seeking a win to complete a career Grand Slam, and Australian Adam Scott, seeking a second major title after winning the 2013 Masters, were Koepka’s nearest rivals when the day began but both fired 72 Saturday to stand on 207.

– Smooth Jazz plays well –

Jazz, ranked 72nd, closed with a 10-foot birdie putt to shoot 67. Jazz sizzled early with three birdies in the first six holes and curled in a tricky 13-footer for birdie at 10 as well.

The 23-year-old from Bangkok, playing in his first PGA Championship, took bogeys at the par-3 14th and 17th before answering at 18.

Varner, ranked 174th, birdied the par-5 fourth and 13th holes and closed with a five-foot birdie putt to shoot 67 and take his best position in a major.

“It’s so hard,” Varner said. “You’ve got to just take your time and execute your shots.”

Unheralded 76th-ranked List, winless in five US PGA Tour seasons, reeled off three birdies in a row starting at the 12th hole, getting within five of Koepka, but closed with back-to-back bogeys to fall back.

“The wind started blowing the whole back nine,” List said. “It really showed its teeth.”

Johnson, who shot 69, is trying to keep Koepka from overtaking him atop the rankings as well as seeking a second major title after the 2016 US Open.

“It was one of those days when I didn’t score that well but I hit a lot of good shots,” Johnson said.

Djokovic battled past Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3 and meets defending champion Nadal on Sunday after the Spaniard earlier swept past Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to reach his 50th Masters final.

“It’s the ultimate challenge,” said the Serbian world number one of playing second-ranked Nadal.

“I’ve had so many matches against him. Up to date, we had the longest rivalry of tennis of all time. Every time we get to play each other, it’s a thrill.”

Djokovic — winner at the Madrid Open last weekend — has had to battle through his last two matches in Rome.

The 31-year-old won through in 2hr 31min against 24th-ranked Schwartzman, having saved two match points over three hours on Friday night against Juan Martin Del Potro.

But Nadal, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, has not dropped a set all week en route to an 11th Rome final.

“He’s one of the greatest champions this game has ever seen,” said 15-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.

“His mentality, his approach, his resilience, ability to fight back after long absence from the tour, injuries, surgeries, he’s had it all.

“He keeps on showing to the world why he’s one of the biggest legends of tennis history. I have greatest respect for him. He’s my greatest rival of all time, for sure.”

The only time eight-time Rome winner Nadal has lost on the red clay of the Foro Italico has been to four-time winner Djokovic.

The pair who have meet four times in the Rome final and are 2-2 in previous meetings while Djokovic leads their career rivalry 28-25.

– ‘Important test’ –

Nadal, seeded second, was playing his fourth straight semi-final, but had not managed to go further on clay this season.

The 32-year-old had been stunned by Tsitsipas, seeded eighth and 12 years his junior, in the semi-finals at the Madrid Open last weekend.

But the Spaniard was clinical on the red clay of the Foro Italico, winning through in 1hr 42min to reach the final for the 11th time.

“It’s an important victory for me,” said Nadal.

“Last week I didn’t play very well in Madrid. Today I did better.

“For me tomorrow is an opportunity to play against a good player, a great player.

“Is another test. I hope to be ready to compete well. Going to be a tough one.”

Nadal’s run to the Rome final comes just a week before he starts his assault on a 12th French Open title at Roland Garros.

“The feeling is that I am playing better every week, every day. That’s important for me,” he said.

“It’s not a drama to lose in semi-finals. The main thing is recover my level.

“I’ve been through some tough moments after Indian Wells. Recovery of the knee again… was not easy to come back and to prepare myself the right way.”

Tsitsipas, meanwhile, who lost the Madrid final to Djokovic, was at a loss to explain his performance as he fell to his fourth defeat in five matches against Nadal.

“I’m just trying to realise what I did wrong,” said Tsitsipas, “because, I mean, it was just one break in each set, if I’m not wrong.”

Fellow Greek Maria Sakkari’s run was also halted in the women’s tournament as she fell 6-4, 6-4 to Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova in 88 minutes.

Sakkari, a 39th-ranked Rome qualifier, had won her first WTA title on clay at the Moroccan Open when she beat Britain’s Johanna Konta.

“I think I ran out of gas,” said the 23-year-old.

Konta, ranked 42, fought back from a set down to seal victory on her fourth match point against Madrid Open winner Kiki Bertens 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 after almost three hours to set-up a Sunday final clash with Pliskova.

The 2019 title crowned what has been a glistening decade of success for Bayern, as iconic players such as Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben picked up yet another gong in their final season at the club.

Yet it also heralded the emergence of a new generation under coach Niko Kovac, with the likes of Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry establishing themselves as first team regulars.

As they look ahead to next season, Bayern are not only on the verge of a generational shift, but also of what club president Uli Hoeness has called “the biggest investment programme in our history”.

Bayern have already completed the signings of World Cup winning French defenders Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez for 35 million euros ($39.3m) and a club record 80 million euros ($89.9m) respectively.

RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, Ajax defender Matthijs De Ligt and Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel have all also been linked to the club in recent months.

Though Hoeness said on Saturday that Bayern would not break any more transfer records, they are expected to make several more signings, with CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge setting his sights on a new winger.

“Because we are losing Robben and Ribery, we need another good alternative alongside (18-year-old Canadian) Alphonso Davies,” Rummenigge told Bild newspaper last month.

That alternative could be Chelsea talent Callum Hudson-Odoi, for whom Bayern made an unsuccessful bid last January.

The first choice successors to Ribery and Robben, however, will be 22-year-old Kingsley Coman and 23-year-old Serge Gnabry, whom Hoeness has described as “the biggest surprise of the season”.

– Kovac divides opinion –

Other stars of Bayern’s golden decade have also seen young players emerging behind them this season.

Niklas Suele, 23, has muscled past Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng to become first choice centre-back, while Thomas Mueller has faced competition from newcomer Leon Goretzka.

In a recent interview with Munich newspaper TZ, president Hoeness said the young players’ success was proof that Bayern had begun their overhaul at just the right time.

“We have gone through a transition at the highest level. We already have five or six young guys in the team and we will add a few more,” he said.

How much the successful transition is down to coach Niko Kovac, however, remains a bitterly divisive question at Bayern.

Despite winning a gruelling title race in his first season at the club, it remains to be seen whether the Croatian will be the man who leads Bayern into the new era.

Hoeness has repeatedly backed Kovac, while CEO Rummenigge has remained sceptical, telling Sky TV that “nobody has a job guarantee at Bayern”.

The coach has been unable to shake off reports that senior players are disgruntled with his leadership.

He was defiant on Saturday, saying he was “convinced” that he would see out the remaining two years of his contract.

“I talk to my bosses, and you get a feeling for the direction things are going in. I think I have interpreted them correctly,” he said on Saturday.

Whether Kovac stays or not, the winds of change are blowing through Munich, with departures also looming at boardroom level.

Rummenigge is set to be succeeded by former Bayern captain Oliver Kahn in 2021, while Hoeness recently told the club magazine that the day when he gives up the presidency is “not far off”.

City claimed a first ever treble of Premier League, FA and League Cups, as well as the Community Shield to take the count of major trophies to 10 in the decade since the club’s fortunes were transformed on and off the pitch by Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

Guardiola now has 27 trophies in total as a coach, six of them since arriving in England three years ago, to go with 14 in four years at Barcelona and seven in three seasons at Bayern Munich.

One remains missing from his haul at City, the same one that escaped him in Germany. Guardiola’s work at City will not truly be done until he lands the Champions League, like he did twice for Barcelona.

However, Guardiola claimed his side’s relentless consistency across all competitions this season made the unique achievement of the treble even harder than his Champions League wins.

The Catalan has set new standards for City and English football, but remains hungry for more improvements next season.

“We won the Premier League for one point, so we are not so far away (from the competition) to be relaxed,” added Guardiola.

“Liverpool show us how tough will be the future. This is the standards, the level we are going to face.”

The fact City do not seem content not only spells danger for the competition, but arguably for the health of the English game at large.

What once was England’s showpiece occasion at Wembley had the feeling of a run of the mill Premier League procession and exposed a chasm between the haves and have-nots that is only becoming greater.

Guardiola could afford the luxury of leaving Sergio Aguero on the bench for the full 90 minutes. Kevin de Bruyne only featured for the final 40 and still won man-of-the-match.

Gabriel Jesus started just eight league games all season, but still took his tally for the season to 21 goals with a double.

City’s back-to-back Premier League titles in the past two seasons were achieved with the two greatest points tallies England has ever seen.

Liverpool finished runners-up this season with the third highest in history, while City’s emphatic Cup success came on the day Bayern’s title win in Germany ensured all five top European leagues were retained for the first time ever.

Watford, by contrast, remain without a major trophy in their history. Despite the defiance of their fans as the goals rained in after half-time, the Hornets were helpless given the disparity of resources.

“We did it for the organisation, for Sheikh Mansour, Khaldoon (Al Mubarak) and all the people working here,” said Guardiola, at the end of a week where City’s success on the field has been overshadowed by more questions over the club’s conduct off it.

“This club made a big step forward for the investment from Sheikh Mansour definitely. You can do that without top players? No way.”

The potential for a year-long transfer ban and season’s exclusion from the Champions League remain in the horizon if FIFA and UEFA investigations into City find wrongdoing.

Such sanctions seem the only way their progress can  be halted with Guardiola already planning new arrivals before he tries to win it all again, starting with the Community Shield against Liverpool in August.

Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus each scored twice, while David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne netted to cap a glorious campaign with the biggest margin of victory in a FA Cup final since 1903.

City also lifted the Community Shield in August for a clean sweep of domestic silverware, but again missed out on the Champions League as Tottenham edged their quarter-final tie on away goals.

Winning the European Cup for the first time in the club’s history remains the holy grail for Guardiola, but he believes his side have raised the bar in England for consistent brilliance.

“It means being consistent every three days during 10 months,” said Guardiola. “I love the Champions League but do that (the treble) is more difficult than winning the Champions League.”

Watford’s wait to win their first ever major piece of silverware goes on as after going behind they had little answer to Guardiola’s relentless champions.

It could have been very different for the Hornets had Roberto Pereyra not missed the first big chance of the game when he fired too close to Ederson with just the City goalkeeper to beat.

“You have to score that chance if you want some chance to win the game,” admitted Watford boss Javi Gracia.

Gracia’s men also played a big part in their own downfall for the opening goal on 26 minutes from which City never looked back.

The diminutive figures of David Silva and Sterling both won headers against taller defenders before the ball broke for the Spaniard to fire across Heurelho Gomes.

City control then turned into total dominance as a gloriously crafted second gave Watford a mountain to climb.

– Super sub De Bruyne

Bernardo Silva’s curling cross picked out Jesus at the back post and the Brazilian was finally credited with the goal after the match despite Sterling making sure by smashing the ball into the net.

Gerard Deulofeu had been Watford’s star of a remarkable semi-final comeback from 2-0 down against Wolves and had the chance to spark the game back into life just before the hour mark, but scuffed his shot wide.

And again Watford’s profligacy was quickly punished.

City’s strength in depth was in evidence as Guardiola could afford the luxury of leaving Sergio Aguero on the bench for Jesus and introduce De Bruyne 10 minutes into the second half.

Jesus’ unselfishness allowed the Belgian, who won man-of-the-match despite not starting, to end an injury-ravaged season on a high by rounding Gomes to fire City’s third into an empty net.

And the roles were reversed 22 minutes from time when De Bruyne’s pass released Jesus in behind to get the goal his performance deserved.

Sterling then rubbed more salt into Watford wounds in the final 10 minutes as he converted Bernardo Silva’s low cross and then fired home at the second attempt three minutes from time.

“I grew up here and saw this stadium get built. It’s a massive dream come true to win trophies here,” said Sterling.”

City have now won all 11 meetings between these two sides by a combined score of 38-6 since the club’s Abu Dhabi takeover a decade ago.

Questions will continue to be asked of the legitimacy of how City amassed such a great side with UEFA, FIFA and FA investigations pending into City’s conduct off the field.

“We are not guilty until proven,” added Guardiola. “That money helps to buy incredible players we have, after that we wait.

“If we are punished we will accept it. But I listen (to) my chairman, my CEO. They gave me the arguments why we are investigated and I trust them.”

But on the field, the status of the side Guardiola has moulded as one of England’s greatest is now secure.