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Rory McIlroy finished the third round of the 2024 BMW Championship in a share of second place on 15-under. The Irishman was tied for the tournament lead with Matthew Baldwin when he was playing the 10th hole.
McIlroy's move up the leaderboard came on the back of a bogey-free third round which included an eagle and four birdies to finish at 6-under. However, the Northern Irishman almost spoiled the result with an unlucky shot on the final hole of the round.
On the 515-yard par-5 18th hole, Rory McIlroy hit a 261-yard tee shot onto the fairway. The ball was 236 yards from the hole, so he decided to go straight for the green, but he came up short and his shot landed in the water hazard in front of the green.
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Faced with a penalty stroke, McIlroy managed to reach the green with his fourth shot, leaving the ball 10 feet from the hole. He then putted for par to remain 6-under for the round and 15-under after 54 holes.
Thanks to this score, Rory McIlroy will go into the final round tied with Billy Horschel and three shots behind leader Matteo Manassero. The Northern Irishman, the American, and the Italian are all former winners of the BMW PGA Championship.
After the round, McIlroy talked about his approach to the tournament (via ASAP Sports):
"I'm playing well. I'm working on my game. I'm doing some good practise while I'm here. Trying to stick to what I know, which is going out there and trying to shoot the best scores that I possibly can and see where it leaves me at the end of the week."
A look at Rory McIlroy's performance at the 2024 BMW PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy carded seven birdies and two bogeys in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship to move into a share of fourth place. A day later, he carded five birdies and one bogey (4-under) to maintain the same position.
On the so-called "Moving Day", McIlroy parred the first three holes and eagled the 537-yard par-5 fourth. He hit a spectacular 201-yard approach shot that left the ball just five feet from the hole and then made a textbook 5-foot putt.
The 4-time major champion parred the next two holes, birdied the 7th and finished the front nine with pars on the last two. On the back nine, he birdied the 10th, 12th, and 17th to finish bogey-free at 6-under for the round.
In the third round, McIlroy had slightly less range than usual with his driver, averaging 294 yards (his season average is 323.5). However, his accuracy and putting were above average.
His driving accuracy percentage was 57.1% for the round (53.6 for the season), while his greens in regulation percentage was 72.2% (68.2% for the season). On Saturday, he made 27 putts (28.2 season average).
McIlroy will play the final round in the final group with leader Matteo Massero and Billy Horschel. He will tee off at 12:05 p.m. local time, 7:05 a.m. Eastern time.
