(AP)
Mito Pereira will take a three-shot lead into the final day of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills after overcoming a shaky turn to surge out in front on Saturday. Pereira birdied the last to card a 69 and remain ahead of overnight leader Will Zalatoris and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who put himself into contention after shooting an excellent 67.
Rory McIlroy’s bid to end his major drought suffered a significant early blow, however. After a run of five straight pars, McIlroy pulled his tee shot to the par-three sixth into the water and ran up a double-bogey five to drop back to two under par. It would be followed by a triple-bogey six and although a run of birdies helped, McIlroy then dropped a further shot at the 18th to finish the day at level par overall.
Earlier in the day, Tiger Woods recorded his worst ever score in the PGA Championship as a successful battle to make the cut took a heavy toll at Southern Hills. Woods shot 79, his previous worst score in the US PGA being a 77 in the first round in 2011. “I just didn’t play well,” Woods said. “I didn’t hit the ball very well and got off to not the start I needed to get off to. I thought I hit a good tee shot down two and ended up in the water, and just never really got any kind of momentum on my side.”
It was confirmed after the conclusion of the third day that Woods had withdrawn from the tournament and the 46-year-old will not play in the fourth round.
Follow all the action on what promises to be an intriguing final day, below:
Fleetwood moving up
A great chip on 17 by Tommy Fleetwood leaves him with two feet left for a birdie that he taps in without too much trouble to move to (-3).
Rory McIlroy finally gets an eight-footer to fall as he pars the final hole to end the weekend at (-2). Not the result he would have been hoping for after the first round but it’ll be another top 10 finish.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:59
Tough work for the leaders
It’s been hard going for the leading four players today. Only Cameron Young is under par for the round and his consistent play – picking up birdies after dropping shots – may lead him all the way to the title.
Mito Pereira (-7) is two over for his round but has just made a great par save on nine. Can he click into gear on the back nine and move further ahead?
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:55
Pereira struggling on nine
Mito Pereira finds the bunker on the front edge of the green on the ninth and his pitch out of the sand finishes about 12ft from the pin.
It’s a right-to-left curler downhill and it needs to go in for par… bingo!
Great save from the leader, he’ll be feeling great after that one.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:48
Consistent Young staying in touch
Cameron Young is hanging in with the leader and keeps creating opportunities to score. A 17ft birdie putt on the 10th is rolled right up next to the green and he knocks it in for another par.
Two holes ahead Justin Thomas (-4) is on the verge of a charge after a second consecutive birdie on 12 moves him within three of the lead.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:45
McIlroy drops back
Rory McIlroy attempts to chip in for an eagle on the 17th but skips his ball through the back of the green and down the slope. His return chip isn’t great and leaves him with a putt off the second cut for a par that he slides wide.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:42
Young gains one, Pereira drops one
There’s a two shot swing in Cameron Young’s favour as he collects a birdie on the ninth to head out in a one-under par 34. Just behind him on eight Mito Pereira makes a bogey four and drops down to -7.
He’s now two over for the day and the gap is now just one.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:36
Thomas with the birdie!
Justin Thomas is quietly making his way around the course and takes a stride forward with a 40ft birdie from off the front edge of the green on 11.
He’s just trying to roll it up close and the ball catches the right line, before swinging in from the right and bouncing in off the back of the cup.
Thomas is up to (-3) with birdie chances still to come.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:33
Rory McIlroy makes Sunday charge again but Mito Pereira retains US PGA lead
McIlroy, who finished runner-up in the Masters thanks to a closing 64 at Augusta National, began the final round nine shots off the lead after following an opening 65 with disappointing rounds of 71 and 74.
That looked to have ended his chances of claiming a fifth major title and first since winning the 2014 US PGA, but McIlroy may have had other ideas and made a brilliant start with four birdies in a row from the second.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:26
Pereira back to eight
Fitzpatrick’s par may just have added a touch of pressure onto Mito Pereira’s lengthy par putt and he knocks it around the back of the hole, making bogey.
Ahead of him Will Zalatoris saves par on the eighth after driving off the back of the green. The putter saves him again.
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:24
The putts aren’t dropping
Matt Fitzpatrick slides a birdie effort past the right edge of the hole on the seventh and Cameron Young drops a shot on the eighth.
Just off the green, McIlroy has a long swinging left-to-right effort for a birdie on 16. He strikes it brilliantly but the ball bobbles into the hole and bounces out!
Michael Jones22 May 2022 21:22
