Pga Championship: McIlroy Eyes Challenge After Climbing Out Of Hole

Rory McIlroy moves into serious contention at the PGA Championship after a strong third round, yet still starts the final day chasing leader Alex Smalley by three shots and a tightly packed group that includes Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg by two.

McIlroy sets an early target on Saturday with a four-under-par 66 in the third round, producing six birdies and two bogeys to reach three-under overall, joining Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed and Ben Griffin in a group of players positioned just behind the main challengers.

Smalley holds the outright lead on six-under heading into Sunday, while Rahm and Aberg share second on four-under, with McIlroy part of the next cluster, one stroke further back, in a congested board that keeps many contenders within reach of the Wanamaker Trophy.

To show the current picture more clearly, the main positions after three rounds can be set out below, with McIlroy and several other big names still close enough to apply pressure over the closing 18 holes.

World number one Scottie Scheffler sits deeper in the field on one-under overall, tied for 31st place, five behind Smalley, after carding a one-over 71 in the third round that included several missed short putts, but the narrow gaps offer a possible route for a late challenge.

McIlroy’s current position follows a difficult start to the week, when a four-bogey finish in the opening round left McIlroy seven strokes from the lead on Thursday, before a second-round 67 on Friday trimmed the deficit to five and laid the groundwork for Saturday’s advance.

Reflecting on the shift, McIlroy links this tournament to Augusta National, where McIlroy claimed The Masters last month, and notes that McIlroy is again trying to win consecutive majors, something last achieved in 2015 by Jordan Spieth, whose back-to-back victories remain a benchmark in modern golf.

McIlroy explains how the poor finish in round one shaped the mindset for the rest of the event, stressing that the overall gap still looked manageable over four rounds and that the experience from last year’s Masters gives confidence that a deficit can be overturned across a full week.

"I had a really bad finish on Thursday, but at the end of the day, I was only seven back," McIlroy said. "I thought back to last year's Masters [where he won] I was seven back after the first day, and I was two ahead going into the final day. There's a lot of golf and a lot of things can happen during the course of a golf tournament. I've progressively just got a little bit closer to the lead each day. We'll see what happens, but I've climbed my way out of that hole a little bit. I'm proud of myself for doing that, but there's one more day left, and I feel like, if I can depending on what the guys do be close enough to the lead, I feel like I've still got a good chance."

Scottie Scheffler PGA Championship outlook and late push

Scheffler’s one-over 71 leaves work to do, yet Scheffler remains mathematically in touch in a tournament where narrow margins separate a large group of players, making a low final round from any contender a potential turning point for the title race at the PGA Championship.

"It's quite literally anybody's tournament," Scheffler said. "A lot of guys have a chance. Somebody is going to have a great round, and I'm going to give myself my best shot at being the one."

With Smalley still ahead, Rahm and Aberg close behind, McIlroy chasing a second straight major and Scheffler hoping for a surge from deeper in the field, the final round promises a tightly contested finish, shaped by how players handle pressure over the decisive closing stretch on Sunday.