Mitchell leads McIlroy by 2

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Keith Mitchell straightened out his putter and delivered big tee shots Saturday that carried him to a 6-under 66 and a two-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Gary Woodland in the Wells Fargo Championship.

The putter issue is not a figure of speech.

After closing with an 82 in the Valspar Championship last week, Mitchell discovered his putter was out of alignment. He had it bent back to the right specifications, avoided mistakes that slowed so many others, and now has a chance at a second PGA Tour victory.

“I just feel like everything’s really working,” said Mitchell, who was at 9under 204. “My driver feels great, and around this place you’ve really got to drive it well. Really just trying to keep the ball in front of me right now and see what we can do tomorrow.“

McIlroy will be right there along for the ride.

A two-time winner at Quail Hollow, McIlroy raced out to the lead, steadied himself after a double bogey on the 12th hole when his drive hit a cart path, and shot 68. Winless the last 18 months, McIlroy will be in the final group for the first time since Riviera more than a year ago.

Woodland had troubles on his own, particularly a drive right of the water hazard on the par-5 seventh that turned birdie into bogey, and a lapse of poor putting down the stretch on the back nine. He still managed a 70 with a chance to win for the first time since his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach in 2019.

With more swirling wind and some pin positions on ridges, Saturday was a day for a little separation. It began with 23 players separated by four shots. Now there are six.

Luke List (68) was three shots behind, while Scott Stallings (70) and Satoshi Kodaira (68) were at 5-under 208.

It also was about avoiding mistakes, and Mitchell did that as well as anyone. He picked up a birdie on No. 9, the second-toughest hole of the day, and took care of most of the scoring chance. Mostly, though, he avoided the blunders that slowed McIlroy and Woodland, and eliminated so many others.

“Some golf courses on the PGA Tour you can hit bad shots, get away with it and still try to make birdie,” Mitchell said. “You can’t do that here. I think that’s a true test of golf. I don’t think golf would be fun if every course was like this. I just feel more comfortable around a tougher course.”