McIlroy charges into contention
Rory McIlroy pulled himself back into contention at the BMW Championship in St. Louis with a five-under-par third round of 65, closing the gap to leader Wyndham Clark. McIlroy finished the day at 12 under, five shots behind Clark, who retained the lead with a topsy-turvy round of his own.
McIlroy, who has been seeking a response after an eight-over finish at last week's St. Jude Championship, opened the tournament with a six-under 64 to share the lead, then added a 69 on Friday. On Saturday, he appeared in steady form on the front nine, turning at one under after a birdie on the par-three second and another on the 11th.
He then stepped things up with a run of four birdies from the 13th, interrupted by a bogey at the 14th. At the 18th, McIlroy found both bunkers with his opening two shots but nearly chipped in for par, saving par with a fine recovery effort.
"I think I needed to be patient the last three days, because my game has been good in parts, but then it has been a struggle in other ways," McIlroy told reporters. "I didn't hit my first fairway today until the 10th hole, playing this golf course from the rough isn't fun, but I hung in there, my short game saved me a couple of times and I got some momentum coming in."
Patrick Cantlay is tied with McIlroy at 12 under, with Chris Gotterup and Gary Woodland a shot further back at 11 under. JJ Spaun faded after a two-over round, and Scottie Scheffler sits on five under after a 68.
Clark holds firm despite early stumble
Clark, who has been in control all week, dropped his first shots of the tournament with a double bogey on the opening hole but responded emphatically. He made an eagle at the eighth and a strong back nine saw him finish with a 65, despite failing to save par on the last. Sky Sports reported that Clark responded to the early double bogey with five birdies and an eagle in an eight-hole stretch to build his five-shot lead.
McIlroy and Clark will make up the final group at 6:50pm Irish time on Sunday, as reported by The Irish Times.
McIlroy acknowledged the size of the task ahead. "I am in a good spot going into tomorrow in terms of where I am at on the leaderboard, but it's going to take a heroic effort from one of us to catch Wyndham," he said. Sky Sports quoted McIlroy adding: "That's a lot to make up. But if I focus on myself, try to shoot a good score - I shot a 64 and a 65 this week - shoot something similar tomorrow, you never know."
A milestone in reach
The tournament carries additional significance for McIlroy as he bids to match a feat unseen since Tiger Woods in 1997. No player has won both the Masters and the BMW Championship (then known as the Western Open) in the same calendar year since Woods, according to PGA Tour Communications. McIlroy, a past BMW Championship winner and three-time FedExCup champion, is making his 16th start at the event, the most of any player since the FedExCup era began in 2007.
McIlroy built the Masters half of that equation in April, holding off Scottie Scheffler to win his second consecutive green jacket, closing at 12 under for his sixth career major, according to Golf Channel. "I just can't believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket," McIlroy said, as quoted by Golf Channel.
McIlroy has six majors and 30 career Tour titles, and completed the career Grand Slam in 2025. He also became the fourth player in Masters history to win back-to-back titles.
The BMW Championship traces its roots to the Western Open, first played in 1899, and is being hosted by Bellerive Country Club for the first time since 2008. This week's purse is $20 million, with a winner's share of $3.6 million.
McIlroy's aggressive mindset has been evident. "I think you can be aggressive here," he said of Bellerive's layout.
With Clark seeking to complete a wire-to-wire victory and bolster his Player of the Year case, and McIlroy needing something close to a 64 to keep the Woods comparison alive into next week's Tour Championship, Sunday's final round at Bellerive promises a compelling duel.