Rory McIlroy insists he still has a chance to challenge for back-to-back major titles after “crawling out of a hole” in contention for the PGA Championship.
The Masters champion is seeking to become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win the first two majors in a calendar year, and set an early third-round clubhouse goal after posting an impressive 4-under 66 at Aronimink Golf Club.
McIlroy finished the opening round with a 74 with four bogeys, leaving him seven strokes behind the early leader. Despite finishing the second round with a 67, he was just five strokes behind the leader. World No. 2 McIlroy had six birdies and two bogeys on Saturday, pushing him further up the leaderboard.
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Rory McIlroy revealed he was watching The Dark Knight at this week’s PGA Championship, so we dug into the archives to remind us of his eclectic taste in movies.
McIlroy’s latest major comeback puts him at 3 under, two strokes behind leader Alex Smalley, and in position to challenge for his third PGA Championship victory.The six-time major champion is happy with how he has handled his slow start to the tournament.
McIlroy added: “We had a very poor finish on Thursday, but at the end of the day we were only seven behind.” “I remember last year’s Masters (which he won), after the first day I was seven places behind, and on the last day I was two places ahead.
McIlroy connects his shot on the 16th green.
“There’s a lot going on in golf and a lot happens during a golf tournament. I’m getting a little closer to the lead every day.
“We’ll see what happens, but I’ve crawled out of that hole a little bit. I’m proud of what I did, but there’s one day left so I feel like if we can get close enough to the lead, we still have a chance, depending on what the players do.”
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As McIlroy looks to win his third PGA Championship this week, take a look at a selection of his best shots from the tournament
How McIlroy built high expectations for Aronimink
McIlroy declared his intent early after a strong drive, making an 8-foot birdie in the first set, but squandering chances from a similar distance in the next set, missing from 4 feet on the fourth for bogey.
The world No. 2 rolled in from 12 feet on the fifth, hit the green with a monster drive on the 397-yard sixth for a two-putt birdie, and capitalized on the par-5 ninth to finish with an impressive score of 32 on the front nine.
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McIlroy drives the 6th green in the third round of the PGA Championship
McIlroy grabbed a share of the lead with a 10-foot birdie on No. 11, then bounced up and down from a greenside bunker to find another birdie on the driveable 13th, and a 12-foot par save on the 15th kept the back nine bogey-free.
He didn’t capitalize on his chances on the par-5 16th and found sand on his tee shot on the next par-3 and dropped his shot, but McIlroy recovered from a wayward drive at the end and converted from 8 feet to avoid a bogey-bogey finish.
“If I had had to play the last three holes at 1 under instead of 1 over, I could have gone to 5 under,” McIlroy added. “I thought if I could come out today and do that, the top guys could shoot under par and be in line with me or ahead of me.
“I didn’t get there. I think I made some mistakes on the last three holes. I still feel like I did enough to think I had a chance.”
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McIlroy gave a hilarious answer to a journalist who asked him to compare his first two rounds at the PGA Championship.
McIlroy, 37, admitted his players were unhappy with the conditions, but questioned the course set-up for the weekend, when only eight strokes separated the leaders.
“I didn’t mean to criticize the set-up,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “What I meant was, when you have a big old golf course that’s been renovated with wide fairways and big greens, and you start putting away the pins, everyone plays exactly the same.
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Difficult conditions at Aronimink made it a tough battle for some players vying for a spot in the PGA Championship.
“That’s why you see so many leaderboards like this. It’s very entertaining for people watching at home, but it’s very frustrating for people playing outside.”
“You heard Scotty (Scheffler), Shane (Lowry) and me…the first few days were frustrating because I felt like good shots weren’t being rewarded depending on where the holes were. I think we were all a little frustrated when we went off course yesterday.”
Who will win the PGA Championship? You can watch the final round live on Sky Sports Golf from 4pm on Sunday. Get and stream Sky Sports without a contract.
