Ireland

McIlroy within striking distance

Golf: Just one month after falling short in his bid to win the British Open, Rory McIlroy has put himself in a good position…

Rory McIlroy makes his way down the 18th hole alongside Dustin Johnson yesterday evening. Both players finished on 10-under and will start the final round three behind Nick Watney. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy makes his way down the 18th hole alongside Dustin Johnson yesterday evening. Both players finished on 10-under and will start the final round three behind Nick Watney. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Sun Aug 15 2010 - 01:00

Golf:Just one month after falling short in his bid to win the British Open, Rory McIlroy has put himself in a good position to claim a first major title at the US PGA Championship. McIlroy fired a sparkling five-under-par 67 at Whistling Straits yesterday to end the third round three strokes behind pacesetting Nick Watney.

Known for his ability to shoot low scores when his putter is working well, the ice-cool McIlroy was upbeat about his prospects for today's final round.

"I realise I've got a good chance tomorrow," the 21-year-old told reporters after finishing a sunny afternoon's birdie-fest tied for second at 10-under 206 with his playing partner Dustin Johnson.

"I'm in contention in a major and it's a great place to be. I feel as if I'm playing well enough to really give it a good go. I've just got to go out there and keep doing the same things I've done the last three days."

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Widely tipped as a future world number one, McIlroy clinched his first PGA Tour victory in scintillating style at the Quail Hollow Championship in May, closing with a course record 10-under-par 62.

He again stunned the golfing world when he opened with a 63 in last month's British Open at St Andrews, equalling the lowest round in a major before ending the week tied for third.

That finish matched his joint third place in last year's PGA Championship at Hazeltine and was a welcome return to form after missed cuts at the Masters and U.S. Open earlier this season.

"I wasn't really in contention at St. Andrews, after the second day there, and I did well to finish third," McIlroy said. "But it gives me a lot of confidence to know that if I am in these major championships I'm good enough to hold my own with the best players in the world."

The ultra-long Whistling Straits layout has provided a tough but fair challenge for the players this week and McIlroy felt he would almost certainly have to go low in the final round to give himself a chance of victory.

"I feel as if I've got to shoot something in the mid-60s, but you never really know," he said. "You could go out and shoot a great score and Nick plays well and that's it. Or you could go out and shoot around 70 and almost get it done.

"Out here you're going to have to make a few birdies. I'm not going to go out there and be overly aggressive and stupid ... but you're going to have to hit good shots and give yourself plenty of chances."

Final round tee-times
(USA unless stated, all times Irish)


2.02Jeff Overton 219, Ian Poulter (England) 221

2.11DJ Trahan 219, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Sweden) 219

2.20Chad Campbell 218, Stuart Appleby (Australia) 218

2.29Rob Labritz 218, Retief Goosen (South Africa) 218

2.38Ryan Moore 217, Shaun Micheel 218

2.47Tom Lehman 217, Davis Love III 217

2.56Ross McGowan (England) 216, Rhys Davies (Wales) 217

3.05Adam Scott (Australia) 216, Kevin Na 216

3.14Marc Leishman (Australia) 216, Darren Clarke (Northern Ireland) 216

3.23Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) 216, Martin Laird (Scotland) 216

3.32Gregory Bourdy (France) 215, JB Holmes 215

3.41Charles Howell III 215, Justin Leonard 215

3.50Ryan Palmer 214, Phil Mickelson 215

3.59Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) 214, Troy Matteson 214

4.17Ben Crane 214, Rickie Fowler 214

4.26KJ Choi (South Korea) 214, Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 214

4.35Heath Slocum 213, Hunter Mahan 213

4.44Tim Clark (South Africa) 213, Tiger Woods 213

4.53Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 213, Brian Gay 213

5.02Paul Casey (England) 213, Kim Kyung-tae (South Korea) 213

5.11Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 213, Peter Hanson (Sweden) 213

5.20Vijay Singh (Fiji) 212, Brandt Snedeker 212

5.29Bo Van Pelt 212, David Toms 212

5.38Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 212, Steve Stricker 212

5.47Carl Pettersson (Sweden) 212, Francesco Molinari (Italy) 212

5.56Brian Davis (England) 212, David Horsey (England) 212

6.14Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 212, DA Points 212

6.23Noh Seung-yul (South Korea) 211, Stewart Cink 211

6.32Simon Khan (England) 210, Ernie Els (South Africa) 211

6.41Matt Kuchar 209, Simon Dyson (England) 210

6.50Bryce Molder 209, Bubba Watson 209

6.59Jason Dufner 208, Jim Furyk 208

7.08Steve Elkington (Australia) 208, Zach Johnson 208

7.17Jason Day (Australia) 207, Martin Kaymer (Germany) 207

7.26 Rory McIlroy(Northern Ireland) 206, Liang Wenchong (China) 207

7.35Nick Watney 203, Dustin Johnson 206