McIlroy shoots 61 for course record, lead
When Rory McIlroy rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole Saturday, he started thinking about shooting 59.
He didn’t quite get there, settling for an 11under-par 61 to break the Quail Hollow record and take a four-shot lead in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C.
After making nine birdies in a 10-hole stretch, the top-ranked player in the world pushed his 7-iron on the par-3 17th hole to the right side of the green 40 feet from the cup. He made par and the dream was dashed.
“I was little disappointed with not finishing it off the way I wanted to, but still it was a great run,” McIlroy said.
It was McIlroy’s best round on the PGA Tour.
He started the balmy afternoon three shots behind Webb Simpson and Robert Streb.
But after two pars to start the day, McIlroy made five birdies on the front nine for a 31. He didn’t let up on the back, birdieing six of the first seven holes.
McIlroy had a sense early that this could be his day to go low after he saw Justin Thomas shoot a 65 and a few others go low in the morning.
“I knew that there were scores out there to be had — and I got a little more aggressive,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy is looking to become the first two-time winner of the event. At 18-under 198, he’s on pace to shatter the tournament record of 16-under set by Anthony Kim in 2008.
Simpson is second, four strokes back after a 68. Streb shot a 71 and was seven shots behind.
Phil Mickelson had a triple bogey on the 18th hole. That dropped him to 71 on the day and left him 10 shots back of McIlroy.
LPGA Tour: France’s Perrine Delacour took advantage of Alison Lee’s late meltdown to take the third-round lead in the Kingsmill Championship at Williamsburg, Va.
Delacour, 21, winless in two seasons on the LPGA Tour, birdied three of the final five holes for a 4under 67 and an 11-under 202 total. After opening a four-stroke lead, Lee, 20, dropped back with a bogey on the par-4 16th and a double-bogey on the par-3 17th. She finished with a 70, leaving her a stroke behind.
Paula Creamer (66), So Yeon Ryu (68) and Minjee Lee (69) were at 9-under.
Champions Tour: Jeff Maggert birdied the final two holes in heavy rain at Birmingham, Ala., for a 4-under 68 and sole possession of the lead after the third round of the Regions Tradition, the first of five majors of the year. Maggert (14-under) leads Kevin Sutherland (69) by a stroke.
European Tour: Englishmen James Morrison (68) and David Howell (69) shared a two-shot lead of the Spanish Open after the third round. Both are at 7-under 209.