After spending so much time in the rough and fog of self-doubt, Rory McIlroy has somehow hacked, gouged, grinded and fought his way into contention at the US PGA Championship.
There have been few tournaments in recent years where he has spent so long in a losing battle with his game and yet it has thrown up a hint of possibility with one round left to play at Oak Hill.
On Sunday he will resume things at one under par and with a decent gust of wind courtesy of a 69, in which he finally showed signs of his better form.
Translating that into something more meaningful remains an extremely difficult task – Brooks Koepka leads down by six on a second consecutive 66, one ahead of Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners, with Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler close by – but it is vaguely amazing McIlroy even has a chance, as it is only willpower that propelled him for the first two thirds of this major.
As late as Friday, he said he felt “terrible” about the ball and that his weekend strategy would come down to shooting as far off the tee as possible due to his lack of confidence in his driver’s accuracy. What happened on Saturday wasn’t as thrilling as all that, but it was much more effective, with an improved ratio of six of 14 fairways hit and some clutch putts.
Rory McIlroy came into play during the third round of the US PGA Championship
McIlroy went out in the worst rain of the day and still managed an impressive 69
It might ultimately be little more than another back door to a strong placement at a major, but at least the numbers were much more pleasing to the eye than the swings.
“It wasn’t great,” McIlroy said. “I can play much better. Even today I just aimed it to one side of the hole and hit the driver and just accepted that it was probably going to be tough. It’s funny, I was a little more accepting today that the ball went into the rough, and I hit even more fairways because of that. A little more carelessness seems to work a little better.
“Of course I would like to be a few shots closer to the lead, but with how I’ve been feeling this week, if you had told me Thursday night I was going to be in the top five on Sunday and with a realistic chance of winning this golf tournament , then I would have grabbed it.’
Playing in the worst downpours of the day, the world No. 3 birdie on the third and fifth holes to go two-under for the championship before saving a bogey on six with a seven-footer. He saved a par from the sand on seven, but after a few loose approaches, two more bogeys followed on eight and nine.
At that point he appeared to have lost momentum, but three birdies in five holes from 12th took the Northern Irishman to two under. Just as crucial as the shots he landed in that run were those he saved with an 11-footer for par at 15, and again to do damage control with a good up and down bogey at 17.
His second consecutive round of 69 was hard earned, although that’s a given on a course that’s been brutally tough all week.
Scheffler was the last big name to feel his teeth with a 73 including four bogeys, costing him his share of the lead overnight and returning him to two under overall. Next to him after 36 holes were Conners and Hovland, who each had 70-card loops in the third round to be five under. In Conner’s case, it was more annoying because he doubled the 16th when he reached seven under.
In their place at the top is a new leader and the familiar face of Koepka. The four-time grand winner, who came so close to The Masters, has once again got the look of a big game hunter and has another chance to convert at six under.
Notably, at the start of his round, both Koepka and his playing partner DeChambeau received a number of taunts from the crowd, presumably for their defecting to LIV. DeChambeau scored 70 after that introduction, while Koepka excelled with five birdies and only one bogey.
The question is how he handles the pressure in the last lap. He has previously said he was “choking” that Sunday in Augusta, so it will be fascinating to see how he handles the tensions this time around.
“The most important lesson (from The Masters) was just never to think the way I thought going into the last round,” said the American. “Learning what I learned at Augusta helped a little bit today. I won’t do it again for the rest of my career.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t start playing badly – you can play well, you will play badly, but I will never have that mentality.”
Brooks Koepka takes a one-time lead into the final round of the US PGA Championship on Sunday
LIV golfers Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau were booed by some fans on the first tee
Four in the lead was Rose, the former US Open champion who ended a four-year winless streak in February. His resurgence has continued in stunning fashion throughout this tournament.
Rose said, “This is kind of my way of working, I suppose – hard subjects. I’ve historically won on difficult golf courses and I think I’ve just mastered my game a little bit better. I know what it takes and that is to maybe have a little more patience and understand the test that is required to play these courses.”
Rose’s playing partner, Michael Block, a club pro, continued to add a feel-good element to the standings with a third consecutive 70 to tie the game, one behind McIlroy.
World No. 1 Jon Rahm had a much worse time than that cohort. It’s rare to see the Spaniard struggling, but his 72 in the third round left him well behind the pace by six and his mood reflected the situation.