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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Rory McIlroy’s Moving Day charge lifted him temporarily into the lead at the 108th PGA Championship before stalling late on Saturday at Aronimink Golf Club. McIlroy carded six birdies in the third round to shoot 4-under 66 for the second straight day and improve to 3-under 207.
“Better,” McIlroy said of his play, which he had described succinctly as “crap,” on Thursday and “not crap” on Friday.
“No profanity today, so keep it clean,” he said.
McIlroy’s start on Thursday was marred by a dreadful finish, a string of four bogeys to finish the round, the first time he’d ever done that on Tour. McIlroy was T-105 on the leaderboard at the end of the first round after posting a 4-over 74 on Thursday. But he reminded himself that he was only seven back, the same amount that he trailed after the opening round of the 2025 Masters, where he'd go on to win and complete the career Grand Slam.
More: Our PGA Championship hub: Videos, scores, more
“I was two ahead going into the final day. So there's a lot of golf and a lot of things can happen during the course of a golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “I've progressively just got a little bit closer to the lead each day.”
McIlroy complained about the course setup, which he said was designed to protect par. But Saturday, the course offered more opportunities for birdies. As Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee put it in a social media post, “Yesterday it looked like a U.S. Open setup. Today I think everybody got a juice box before they teed off.”
The pin positions were more generous, the weather was warmer and the wind laid down early. McIlroy went to work with a birdie at the first. But that gain was negated by a 3-foot par putt at No. 4 and it looked as if it might not be the week for the Masters champ. Not so fast. The Northern Irishman refused to go down without a fight, canning a 12-foot birdie at five and drove the green at the 397-yard par-4 sixth.
“I wasn't trying to hit it on the green. I was just trying to get it up there somewhere around the green,” he said. “I knew, if I hit it good, I could get it close to front edge. It was a perfect line.”
That led to a short birdie and a dazzling pitch and run to tap-in range set up a birdie at No. 9. Game on! He tacked on birdies at Nos. 11 and 13 and was tied for the lead. That’s when the birdies dried out, and he dropped a shot at the par-3 17th when he had trouble with a plugged lie in a bunker. McIlroy may rue leaving a few out there. His target score had been to get to 5 under, but he fell short of the mark.
“I sort of thought if I could go out today and get to that, it would make the leaders shoot under par to either be with me or ahead of me,” he said. “I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow.”
No one has won the first two legs of the Grand Slam since Jordan Spieth in 2015. McIlroy is attempting to join only four players in history who have ever won a major championship after being ranked 50th or worse on the leaderboard at the end of the first round. Those four are:
McIlroy would have to pass the most after digging himself an early hole. As McIlroy finished his third round and the leaders were teeing off, the wind picked up and the course was drying out. Could Aronimink change quickly again and keep McIlroy in striking distance of the lead heading into the final round?
“We'll see if it continues to blow as hard as that, and as the afternoon goes on, I'd certainly like it to blow as hard as that as the afternoon goes on,” he said, “but we'll see.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy makes PGA Championship comeback bid
Continue reading...
“Better,” McIlroy said of his play, which he had described succinctly as “crap,” on Thursday and “not crap” on Friday.
“No profanity today, so keep it clean,” he said.
McIlroy’s start on Thursday was marred by a dreadful finish, a string of four bogeys to finish the round, the first time he’d ever done that on Tour. McIlroy was T-105 on the leaderboard at the end of the first round after posting a 4-over 74 on Thursday. But he reminded himself that he was only seven back, the same amount that he trailed after the opening round of the 2025 Masters, where he'd go on to win and complete the career Grand Slam.
More: Our PGA Championship hub: Videos, scores, more
“I was two ahead going into the final day. So there's a lot of golf and a lot of things can happen during the course of a golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “I've progressively just got a little bit closer to the lead each day.”
McIlroy complained about the course setup, which he said was designed to protect par. But Saturday, the course offered more opportunities for birdies. As Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee put it in a social media post, “Yesterday it looked like a U.S. Open setup. Today I think everybody got a juice box before they teed off.”
The pin positions were more generous, the weather was warmer and the wind laid down early. McIlroy went to work with a birdie at the first. But that gain was negated by a 3-foot par putt at No. 4 and it looked as if it might not be the week for the Masters champ. Not so fast. The Northern Irishman refused to go down without a fight, canning a 12-foot birdie at five and drove the green at the 397-yard par-4 sixth.
“I wasn't trying to hit it on the green. I was just trying to get it up there somewhere around the green,” he said. “I knew, if I hit it good, I could get it close to front edge. It was a perfect line.”
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That led to a short birdie and a dazzling pitch and run to tap-in range set up a birdie at No. 9. Game on! He tacked on birdies at Nos. 11 and 13 and was tied for the lead. That’s when the birdies dried out, and he dropped a shot at the par-3 17th when he had trouble with a plugged lie in a bunker. McIlroy may rue leaving a few out there. His target score had been to get to 5 under, but he fell short of the mark.
“I sort of thought if I could go out today and get to that, it would make the leaders shoot under par to either be with me or ahead of me,” he said. “I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow.”
No one has won the first two legs of the Grand Slam since Jordan Spieth in 2015. McIlroy is attempting to join only four players in history who have ever won a major championship after being ranked 50th or worse on the leaderboard at the end of the first round. Those four are:
- Steve Jones, 1996 U.S. Open, was T-84 after R1
- Payne Stewart, 1989 PGA Championship, T-77 after R1
- Mark O'Meara, 1998 Open Championship, T-62 after R1
- John Mahaffey, 1978 PGA Championship, T-59 after R1
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McIlroy would have to pass the most after digging himself an early hole. As McIlroy finished his third round and the leaders were teeing off, the wind picked up and the course was drying out. Could Aronimink change quickly again and keep McIlroy in striking distance of the lead heading into the final round?
“We'll see if it continues to blow as hard as that, and as the afternoon goes on, I'd certainly like it to blow as hard as that as the afternoon goes on,” he said, “but we'll see.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy makes PGA Championship comeback bid
Continue reading...
