McIlroy grabs share of Memorial lead with Kim, Lipsky
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy birdied two of the last four holes to grab a share of the lead after Saturday’s third round of the US PGA Tour Memorial Tournament.
World No.3 McIlroy, who won at Dubai in January but hasn’t taken a US PGA title this year, fired a two-underpar 70 to stand on six-under 210 after 54 holes at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
David Lipsky, an American chasing his first PGA title, closed with back-toback bogeys and fell into sharing the lead with McIlroy and South Korean Kim Si-Woo, who shot 71.
One stroke back on 211 were Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Americans Wyndham Clark, Mark Hubbard, Lee Hodges and Denny McCarthy.
McIlroy, a 23-time PGA winner, had struggled after missing the cut at the Masters and sharing 47th at Quail Hollow, where he’s a threetime champion.
But he shared seventh at the PGA Championship two weeks ago at Oak Hill despite feeling uncomfortable over the ball and has found better form with the US Open two weeks away.
“I’m feeling more comfortable than I felt at Oak Hill,” McIlroy said. “I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent. But I’m battling and I’m hanging in there and the course is playing really tough.”
McIlroy blasted out of a greenside bunker and sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 fourth, but made bogey at 10 after missing the fairway and taking four to find the green.
He answered with a birdie putt from just outside 25 feet at the par-3 12th then sank a six-foot birdie putt at the par-5 15th and answered a bogey at 16 with a seven-foot birdie putt at 17.
At 18, McIlroy knocked a 70-foot birdie putt almost nine feet past the hole but sank the comeback putt for par and pumped his right fist after booking his place in final pairing with Kim and avoiding his first three-putt of the week.