McIlroy’s climb up leader board stalled
Haven — Rory McIlroy, the reigning PGA Championship winner and topranked player in the world, opened Saturday’s third-round action at Whistling Straits on a tear. He birdied two of the first four holes then made one of the shots of the day, sinking a nearly 65-foot putt for eagle on No. 5 to move to 6-under.
Everything was going McIlroy’s way as he started what looked to be a surge up the leader board.
“Yeah, got off to a dream start, really,” McIlroy said. “To be 4-under through 5 and not having birdied the first and third hole, to birdie 4, as well, was a bonus. . . . I told (caddie) J.P. (Fitzgerald) to leave the pin in (on No. 5) and I’m glad I did; it was going 6 or 8 feet past. It was nice to see that one drop.”
McIlroy’s fortunes quickly changed, though. His second shot on No. 6 landed in a bunker off the green, leading to a bogey. After parring No. 7, he slipped again on the eighth for another bogey.
Putting better than he had all week but still missing birdie chances, McIlroy rallied on the back nine to get back to 6-under heading into the final round. The 26-year-old star out of Northern Ireland is still mathematically in contention, but he’s very much on the fringe with 16 golfers ahead of him.
“I think in the back of your mind you still think you have a a chance because that’s what your competitive nature tells you,” said McIlroy, who admitted to feeling some rustiness after missing five weeks due to a torn ligament in his left ankle.
“But if you’re looking at it realistically, I want to go out there tomorrow and shoot the best score that I’ve shot this week.”
One of the golfers ahead of McIlroy is 22-year-old Texan Jordan Spieth. Spieth, No. 2 in the world, played a bo- gey-free round to enter Sunday in second place at 13-under.
Spieth will overtake McIlroy for the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking if he wins the PGA and McIlroy does not finish in second place alone.
There are three other scenarios that would result in a change at the top of the world ranking:
Spieth finishes second alone and McIlroy is not in the top six; Spieth ties for second with one other player and McIlroy is not in the top13; Spieth ties for second with two other players and McIlroy is not in the top 33.
McIlroy has held the No. 1 spot since the 2014 World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational.
Déjà vu for Woods: Another major championship, another missed cut for Tiger Woods. The 14time major champion finished at 4-over 148; he made one double-bogey, seven bogeys and just five birdies.
Woods tied for 17th at the Masters but shot 8076 at the U.S. Open, 7675 at the British Open and 75-73 at the PGA. “It’s frustrating to miss any cuts because any time you miss a cut you don’t have a chance to win the event,” he said.
Woods has committed to play in the Wyndham Championship next weekend but likely won’t qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“Unfortunately, I’m potentially missing out on the playoffs,” he said. “But I still have a lot of golf left. We have some other golf tournaments that I’m going to be playing in, plus overseas.
“I guess the PGA Tour may be coming to a close but I’ve still got plenty of golf to play around the world.”
Fighting hard: Phil Mickelson was pleased with his 6-under 66, especially because he is trying to play his way onto the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
He is ranked 36th in the points and needs to climb into the top 10 to make the team. Captain Jay Haas also gets two at-large picks.
“I’m certainly far away,” said Mickelson, who was at 5-under 211. “But I know that rounds like this tell me that I’m very close to having it click. If it clicks I should be able to win one of these next couple events and get myself right back up there in contention for the points.
“I don’t want to have to be a pick. I haven’t been a pick in 20 years. I don’t want to be a pick now. I want to get on the team on my own merit.”
View to a thrill: Michael O’Reilly of Sheboygan, the head professional at Whistling Straits since 2007, got to step inside the ropes in the third round.
O’Reilly, 38, served as a playing marker for Morgan Hoffmann. An odd number of players (77) made the cut and Hoffmann, first off the tee at 9:15 a.m., had the option to play alone or with a marker.
Hoffmann requested a marker, so O’Reilly joined him.
“He was great,” O’Reilly said of Hoffmann, who shot a 72. “He can hit the ball. He probably carries it 50 yards past me (off the tee). I hit it pretty good, but he hit it really good.”
O’Reilly birdied No. 13 and estimated that he would have shot 82, although he picked up on the 15th hole. His score did not count.
He also served as a marker during the second round of the 2004 PGA at Whistling Straits, when two players from the same threesome withdrew.
Chip shots: The forecast for the final round calls for a high of 90 degrees, with a 10% chance of rain. The wind will be blustery, gusting to 25 mph out of the southwest. . . .
Brian Gaffney, the first club professional to make the cut at the PGA Championship since 2011, had a rough back nine and shot a 78. Gaffney is the head pro at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.