Rory McIlroy Makes a Move on a Friendlier Saturday at the PGA Championship

The Masters champion and others had complained about the setup at Aronimink in the first two rounds, but Round 3 is proving easier and a 66 put McIlroy squarely in the mix.

Rory McIlroy bogeyed the 17th from the greenside bunker but still shot 66, making a move on Saturday. | James Lang-Imagn Images

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Rory McIlroy acknowledged Saturday that what might be annoying to players such as himself and his peers regarding the setup of the course at the PGA Championship makes for a compelling watch for those on the outside of the ropes.

McIlroy, who opened the tournament at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday with a 74 and battled his way into a share of the lead for a time during the third round, suggested frustration over the setup of the course following the first two rounds.

He and others such as Scottie Scheffler pointed out the difficulty of the pin placements and the challenge in getting the ball close or making putts, which led to a compact leaderboard and 4 under par leading through 36 holes.

“When you have a set of greens like this, you can start to frustrate people pretty easily,” McIlroy said after a 4-under-par 66. “You heard it in me last night. You heard it in Scottie. I saw some of his comments. Shane [Lowry]. I think there was a lot of guys that were frustrated yesterday coming off the course.

“Again, it’s frustrating to us, but at the same time, it creates a hell of an entertaining championship. If I wasn’t playing this tournament, I’d love what's going on this week, but watching and playing are two different things.”

McIlroy said Friday the course set up didn’t allow for anyone to separate but the result was and remains a slew of players in contention.

But clearly the PGA of America backed off for the third round, putting pins in a few more accessible positions. That was the case on the front nine, where there were a slew of birdies.

Michael Kim shot 30 for the first nine, Chris Kirk 31 among several examples. McIlroy had 32 strokes and when he birdied the 11th and 13th holes, he was tied for the lead at 4 under with second-round leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley.

Rory McIlroy reaches the top with a birdie at the 13th. 🔝

He joins the leaders at 4-under.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/dk4ns0aFZO

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 16, 2026

But McIlroy was unable to birdie the par-5 16th, couldn’t get up and down for a par from a greenside bunker at the par-3 17th and then missed the fairway at the 18th, necessitating a layup from the rough and a solid 8-footer for par to keep him within touch of the top.

“Honestly, I felt like if I went out and—I had a chance to do this. If I had played the last three holes at 1 under instead of 1 over, I would have got to 5 [under],” he said. “And I sort of thought if I could go out today and get to that, it would make the leaders shoot under par to either be with me or ahead of me. So I didn’t get there. I made, I guess, a couple of mistakes the last three holes.

“I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow.”

McIlroy finished the first round with four consecutive bogeys which ultimately could cost him a chance at the tournament.

But he attempted to work some issues out with his driver following the first round and has rebounded with scores of 67 and 66.

“I thought back to last year’s Masters, I was seven back after the first day, and I was two ahead going into the final day,” he said. “So there’s a lot of golf and a lot of things can happen during the course of a golf tournament. I’ve progressively just got a little bit closer to the lead each day.

“We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what the guys do this afternoon. But I’ve climbed my way out of that hole a little bit, which is ... I’m proud of myself for doing that, but there’s one more day left, and I feel like I’m—again, if I can—depending on what the guys do, be close enough to the lead, I feel like I’ve still got a good chance.”

McIlroy is trying to win his third PGA Championship and also trying to become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win the first two majors of the year.