Third-round leaderboard
After three rounds at Bellerive Country Club, Wyndham Clark of the United States leads at 17 under par. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Patrick Cantlay of the United States are tied for second at 12 under. Chris Gotterup and Gary Woodland, both Americans, are at 11 under, while Collin Morikawa is at 10 under and South Korea's Im Sung-Jae is at nine under.[S1]
McIlroy, the Masters champion, shot a five-under 65 on Saturday to climb from his second-round position. He birdied four of the last six holes to reach 12 under. Cantlay matched him with a 66. Clark, who double-bogeyed the first hole, recovered with two birdies and an eagle on the eighth, then birdied four of the next five before a bogey on the last to finish with a 65.[S1]
McIlroy's round and reflections
McIlroy had started the tournament with a six-under 64 to share the lead, but his second-round 69 dropped him back. After that round, he told the Golf Channel that conditions were similar to the first day, though the wind came from a different direction. He noted the greens were soft and the fairways offered more run, but expected good scores. He admitted he did not hit the ball as well as the previous day and planned an afternoon on the range.[S3]
He expressed pride in hanging in during the second round, making good par putts on the back nine and saving par after a mistake on the par-five eighth. He also praised the fans at Bellerive, recalling the atmosphere from the 2018 PGA Championship there, and said the crowds on Thursday and Friday were incredible.[S3]
Other contenders
In the BMW Championship, Robert MacIntyre of Scotland and American Scottie Scheffler, the world's top-ranked player, both carded 68s to tie for 15 under. England's Aaron Rai and Matthew Fitzpatrick were just one stroke behind. Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood fell back after rounds above par; Rose's 73 put him at one under, and Fleetwood's 74 left him at two over.[S1]
Wyndham Clark, the only golfer in the tournament without a dropped shot after two rounds, led the field at 12 under par with two consecutive 64s. Gary Woodland was one stroke behind, and JJ Spaun reached 11 under at the turn, but three bogeys on the back nine left him at 10 under. Scheffler, who started with a 72, bogeyed the first hole of the second round but bounced back with five birdies to finish at three under.[S3]
