PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Rory McIlroy, despite his season-long slump, might defend his PGA Championship title yet. The former No 1-ranked player shot a 3-under-par 67, one of the low rounds Saturday, to climb up the leaderboard.
He closed with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18, two of the toughest holes, to get to 3-under for the tournament and climb to within six strokes of the lead. He is tied for seventh.
“It was good to feel the sort of rush again,’’ said McIlroy, who is winless this year. “It was great to feel that. Making a birdie on 17 is like an eagle and then to follow it up with another on the last is even better.’’
Knowing the drying course conditions were going to be tougher on the field, McIlroy, who started the round at even par, said he did not feel he was out of the tournament.
“I felt like I still had a chance,’’ McIlroy said. “I felt good enough about my game that I could go out there and post a good one and at least give myself a chance going into [today]. I’ve got another 18 to play and hopefully I can just keep playing the way I am.’’
McIlroy said he began to feel his game come around last week at Firestone, particularly his putting.
“It started last week,’’ he said. “I had 24 putts for 71 on Friday. Pretty soon I had 25 putts for 69 on Saturday. So my short game has been really, really good. It was just a matter of trying to get a long game in shape. I wouldn’t say that that was my best ball”‘striking round out there by any means, but I got it up and down when I needed to and that was the most important thing.
“I’ve given myself a chance [today]. That’s the most important thing.’’
* Henrik Stenson and Jonas Blixt have a chance to do for Sweden what Adam Scott did for Australia at the Masters in April. Scott, of course, became the first Aussie to win the Masters.
No men’s player from Sweden ever has won a major championship, and entering today’s final round Stenson stands just two shots out of the lead at 7-under par and his countryman, Blixt, is three off at 6-under par.
“Whether it be the first Swede… at this point it would be the same as winning my first major championship,’’ Stenson said. “But yeah, it would be lovely. We’re still a long ways away from that. There’s no point thinking ahead of things.’’
Stenson is one of the hottest players at the moment. He finished runner-up at the British Open and last week at Firestone.
During the PGA Championship two years ago, his game was so down and out, he was playing at home in his club championship — and he didn’t even win that.
“I was up in contention there, as well … and I didn’t win,’’ he said jokingly. “I was playing at my home course, and I was not in a good period with my golf. I was not playing great. It’s nice to be here. I think I should be at the majors, rather than my club championship. I’m a bit more pleased with my play here.
“Golf is definitely a whole lot more fun than it was back in 2011. It’s more fun to show up at the races with a good gear box and a good set of tires, you know. I’m working ahead, getting closer to where I want to be and playing some good golf again. It’s been a lot of hard work.’’
* A bizarre thing happened to Blixt on the 18h hole when he hit a shot into a spectator’s pocket.
“I’ve never had anything like that happen,’’ Blixt said. “A friend of my father hit someone in the [butt] one day and the first thing that came out of his mouth was, ‘Did it plug?’ Fortunately, I didn’t have to play from there.’’
Blixt got a free drop and birdied the hole to get to 6-under par and is three shots off the lead.
Lee Westwood, Blixt’s playing partner yesterday, joked of the fan, “He was doing well to catch that on the fly in his back pocket. I think the Yankees ought to sign him up.’’
* Dustin Johnson posted low the round with a 65 to go from 3-over to 2-under. By the time he finished his round Johnson shot 42 spots up the leaderboard and is tied for ninth.
Johnson has won seven times on the PGA Tour, including the Hyundai Tournament of Champions this year.
He also has had two close calls in majors — at the 2010 PGA at Whistling Straits, where a penalty for grounding his club in a questionable bunker kept him out of the playoff Martin Kaymer won, and the second when he was runner-up to Darren Clarke at the 2011 British Open.
* The fans, in an on-line participation, voted for the hole location on the par-3 15th for today’s final round. The flag will be positioned four yards from the pond on the right side of the green.