McIlroy tied for Memorial lead
DUBLIN, OHIO » Rory McIlroy realized Muirfield Village was playing so tough that he set a goal of just trying to break 70. He didn’t quite get there, and his 2-under 70 still was enough for him to share the lead Saturday in the Memorial.
It helped that Hideki Matsuyama went from leading to dropping off the leaderboard in a span of six holes. And that Patrick Cantlay went into the water and over the green on his way to a triple bogey. David Lipsky bogeyed his last two holes.
What remained amid a few rumbles of thunder — but no weather delays — was an opportunity for just about everyone who had a tee time Sunday.
Thirteen players were separated by two shots. Nine more were only three shots out of the lead.
Lipsky’s two closing bogeys gave him a 72, while Si Woo Kim overcome two double bogeys for a 71. They joined McIlroy at 6-under 210.
It’s the highest 54-hole lead since 1990, when the weather was so atrocious that the final round was canceled and Greg Norman won at even-par 216.
McIlroy ran into trouble in the right rough on the 10th and had to scramble for a bogey. He pulled his tee shot on the par-5 11th and caught a break when it stopped short of going into the creek. That’s when he set his goal for the day to break 70 by avoiding mistakes and picking up some birdies on a few of the more scorable holes.
It didn’t quite work out that way. He chipped in for birdie on the dangerous par-3 12th. He also hit an approach to a back pin on
the 17th that rolled past the cup to 7 feet and set up one of only eight birdies on that hole all round.
Just as sweet was the 18th, where his putt from the back of the green to a front pin ran nearly 10 feet by the cup and he holed that for par. McIlroy had several par putts from between 5 and 8 feet, all of them important on a day like this.
“I was really happy with how I scored out there, and how I just sort of hung in there for most of the day,” McIlroy said.
He will be in the final group with Kim, who oneputted his last seven holes, saving par from a front bunker on the 18th.
Jordan Smith in 6-way tie for the lead after 3rd round of European Open
HAMBURG, GERMANY » Jordan Smith and Alexander Björk were among golfers in a six-way tie for the lead heading toward the final round of the European
Open.
Smith, the champion in 2017, recorded a 1-under 72 to move to 6 under for the tournament on Saturday along with Björk (69), Tom McKibbin (72), David Law (72), John Axelsen (69), and Julien Guerrier (67).
Smith started the day a shot off the lead but bogeyed the first hole at Green Eagle and was 2 over for the day at one stage before birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th holes.
“I’m going to go hit a few balls, figure some stuff out and hit a few putts. I’m finding it really difficult to read these greens,” Smith said.
“I’m happy with how I hung in there and kept things going, made a few birdies coming in, which was nice.”
Björk’s sole European tour title was at the 2018 China Open, and said it “would mean a lot” to win again.
The 20-year-old McKibbin, a Northern Irish player in his first season on the tour, is aiming to become the youngest winner this
year.
Rose Zhang shots 66 to take lead into Mizuho Americas Open finale
JERSEY CITY, N.J. » Twotime NCAA champion Rose Zhang moved into position to win in her professional debut, shooting a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Mizuho Americans Open.
The former Stanford star had six birdies in a bogeyfree round on a raw, overcast day at Liberty National in jumping to the top of the leaderboard. It’s nothing new for the 20-yearold from California who won 12 of 20 events in her two years in college, with many viewing it as a sign of things to come.
Event 1 is certainly shaping up that way a day to go, and it could have been better. Zhang settled for a tapin birdie at the driveable 16th hole after hitting her tee shot within about 5 feet.
Cheyenne Knight, who was tied with Minjee Lee for the halfway lead at 7 under, was tied for second with Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand and Aditi Ashok of India, who both shot 68s. Knight had a 69, making a bogey at No, 17 and missing a 10-footer for birdie on the final hole.
Lee (72) was 7 under in fifth place, a shot ahead of Jennifer Kupcho (69) rookie Hae Ran Ryu (66) and EunHee Ji (70).
Stephanie Kyriacoiu of Australia had the best round of the day, shooting a 65 that included an eagle, six birdies and an early bogey. The 22-year-old was at 5 under along with topranked Jin Young Ko (73) and fellow South Korean player Sei Young Kim (70).