McIlroy (62) faces Koepka (64)
Rory McIlroy, showing he can bounce back quickly, shot an eight-under-par 62 on Saturday in the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take a one-stroke lead over Brooks Koepka at the World Golf Championships event at Memphis, Tenn.
McIlroy, who missed the cut by a stroke last week in the British Open on his home turf in Northern Ireland, had a nine-birdie, one-bogey round to move from a tie for 17th to the top of the leaderboard at TPC Southwind.
“I guess the pressure’s off a little bit,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy capped his round by rolling in a 27-foot birdie putt on the par-four 18th for the lead to himself after putting his tee shot into a fairway bunker. He had a 12under 198 total.
Two groups behind McIlroy, Koepka (64) had his chances. The world’s topranked player finished with three pars. Now Koepka and McIlroy, who played the first two rounds together, will play together Sunday for the first time in a final round.
Second-round leader Matthew Fitzpatrick (69) was third, two strokes back. Marc Leishman (63), Alex Noren (66) and Jon Rahm (68) were three shots behind.
“It is exciting,” McIlroy said. “He’s the No. 1 player in the world, four majors in the last three years. He’s the man right now. I got to play with him the last couple days and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing what he can do.”
Kim leads Evian
Cresting a wave of South Koreans atop the Evian Championship leaderboard, Hyo Joo Kim fired a thirdround 65 to move one shot clear on 15-under 198 at Evian-Les-Bains, France.
Kim’s latest impressive round of majors golf did not quite match her very first — a record 61 here as a teenager five years ago when she took the title in her elite debut.
Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park closed the gap in second by making a birdie on the parfive 18th for a 5-under 66.
Four shots back in a tie for third place were seven-time major winner Inbee Park (69) and Jin Young Ko (66), who won the season’s first major, the ANA Inspiration, in April.
Sunday’s forecast calls for persistent rain and a temperature drop of about 30 degrees from the openinground heat wave.
Senior British Open
Englishman Paul Broadhurst birdied two of the last three holes to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Senior British Open, which will be Tom Watson’s final appearance at the tournament.
Broadhurst had four birdies and a bogey in his threeunder 67 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes for a five-under 205 total. American Woody Austin (68) is second.
Three-time champion Watson shot 72 and is tied for 55th at six over.
After the round, the 69year-old American announced he wouldn’t be playing at the tournament any more. Watson is one of only three golfers to have won the Senior British Open and
Barracuda
Troy Merritt scored five points with a 53-foot eagle putt on the par-five 18th to take a two-point lead in the Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour’s only modified Stableford scoring event.
Merritt had an 18-point round for a 37-point total at Reno’s Montreaux Golf and Country Club. The scoring system awards eight points for double eagle, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par, and subtracts a point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse.
A two-time winner on the PGA Tour, Merritt made a 21foot birdie putt on the parfour 17th.
Robert Streb, the leader Saturday morning after the completion of the storm-delayed second round, was two points back. He had 10 points in the third round, closing with three pars.