Rory McIlroy kept his hopes of winning a seventh major championship title alive on Saturday, with the Northern Irishman posting a 66 in the third round at Aronimink.
McIlroy appeared to be in danger of missing the cut after an awful end to Thursday in Philadelphia. He was four over par after the opening round.
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But he has managed to make a real charge up the leaderboard since then. McIlroy led the PGA Championship at times on Saturday before a bogey on 17 saw him finish up on three under par.
He is currently three shots adrift of Alex Smalley. But obviously, the 37-year-old has a lot more experience of playing in the game’s most pressurised situations.
Rory McIlroy told the score to target on Sunday at the PGA Championship
McIlroy appears to have made up with Aronimink having criticised the course set-up earlier in the week. And he has now been given an idea of what he will need to post on Sunday to get across the line.
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Speaking on Scorecard on CBS Sports, Colt Knost suggested what he believes the winning score is likely to be, with McIlroy very much in the mix with 18 holes to play.
“I was talking to some people early in the week who had been members here a long time. One was a former club champion, played a lot of golf with Jay Sigel, and he talked about how Jay played the golf course and how it was strategy, and he chose to lay back most of the time. That’s just not in these guys’ DNA. That’s not how they play golf,” he said.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images
“It is tee it high, let it fly. Take the bunkers out of play. They’d rather be 120 in the rough than 170 in the fairway. I think they thought early in the week they could play from the rough, but we’ve seen you can get some really nasty lies out here, but then you can also get lucky. We’ve seen some guys hit fairway woods out of the rough this week and chase it up there on the green. But I agree. I think you have to put the ball in the fairway. But with Rory McIlroy‘s resume, I mean, Career Grand Slam, he’s not going to lay back.
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“He doesn’t care if he finishes fourth. It’s all about winning for him. So he’s going to keep the foot on the gas, send driver down there. If he drives it well, he’s going to play well and he’s going to be a factor.
“So I think you need to get to six under par where Alex Smalley is right now. I think that’s going to be the winning score. I think that’ll be a playoff. Seven’s going to win it outright for you, but I would prefer to get to six under. So he doesn’t have to go crazy low. None of these guys do.
“Like, even if the conditions are good, the golf course is still so hard. The greens are so challenging. I mean, we’ve seen so many three putts. It can just come up and bite you at any moment. I like getting to six under par, have a nice playoff, which will be great TV as long as it finishes tomorrow night.”
Johnson Wagner names who he thinks will win the PGA Championship
The concern for McIlroy is that there are so many impressive names within a handful of shots of Smalley.
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Jon Rahm is tied for second, along with Ludvig Aberg. Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele will play alongside McIlroy on Sunday, with the pair both on three under par.
Justin Rose and Cam Smith are among the players at two under par, while Scottie Scheffler is a further shot back after an awful day on the greens on Saturday.
Someone is likely to emerge from the pack with the round of their lives. And speaking later in the same program, Johnson Wagner predicted that it would be Aberg who goes on to steal the show.
“I’m going to go with Ludvig Aberg. I’m sticking with my guns. He’s going to shoot a five under 65. He’s going to get to nine under par, and I disagree with Colt saying six under,” he said.
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It is a brave call to back Aberg given that what happened on Sunday at The Players Championship earlier this year.
He certainly has the talent to separate himself from the field at Aronimink. But he will need no one to tell him what people will be saying if he starts to move clear heading into the back nine on Sunday.
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