Rory McIlroy’s spectacular closing eagle leaves him two shots off the BMW PGA Championship lead entering a crowded final round at Wentworth
Rory McIlroy needed something special late Saturday to keep himself firmly in the BMW PGA Championship fight.
He delivered it on Wentworth’s final hole.
McIlroy closed his third-round 69 with a spectacular eagle at the par-5 18th, finishing at 11-under par and just two shots behind co-leaders Filippo Celli and Manuel Elvira entering Sunday’s final round.
“I feel like I’ve given myself a real opportunity tomorrow,” McIlroy said.
He certainly has.
The four-time major winner reached the 18th green with a 4-iron from roughly 230 yards, stuffing the approach inside two feet and converting the eagle.
Combined with a birdie at No. 17, McIlroy suddenly transformed a relatively quiet round into a serious Sunday threat.
He’ll have plenty of company.
Celli shot 69 and Elvira posted 68 to reach 13 under, while J.J. Spaun, Alejandro Del Rey and Johannes Veerman sit only one shot behind at 12 under.
Del Rey and Veerman were Saturday’s biggest movers, each firing an 8-under 64.
Adam Scott and Joaquin Niemann also finished at 11 under alongside McIlroy. Niemann carded a 67, while Scott shot 71 after beginning the day just two strokes off the lead.
The leaderboard tightened considerably after second-round leader Ryan Gerard stumbled.
Gerard began Saturday at 12 under and two shots clear of Scott, but five bogeys over his first 14 holes sent him tumbling down the board.
Two late birdies limited the damage, but a 3-over 75 left him at 9 under and four shots behind the leaders.
That collapse opened the door for nearly everyone.
“There’s a lot of people around the lead,” McIlroy said. “It’s going to be an interesting day.”
He’s right.
Fifteen players will begin Sunday within three shots of the lead, creating the possibility of a chaotic finish at Wentworth.
Robert MacIntyre and Ludvig Åberg are among those sitting at 10 under, while Gerard remains close enough to recover if he can rediscover the form that produced his second-round 65.
But McIlroy may be the name drawing the most attention.
He won the BMW PGA Championship in 2014 and now enters Sunday needing to make up only two shots.
After the way he finished Saturday, that suddenly doesn’t look like much ground at all.
