WASHINGTON (AFP) — Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy birdied two of the last four holes to grab a share of the lead after Saturday’s third round of the US PGA Tour Memorial Tournament.
World number three McIlroy, who won at Dubai in January but hasn’t taken a US PGA title this year, fired a two-under par 70 to stand on six-under 210 after 54 holes at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
David Lipsky, an American chasing his first PGA title, closed with back-to-back bogeys and fell into sharing the lead with McIlroy and South Korean Kim Si-woo, who shot 71.
One stroke back on 211 were Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Americans Wyndham Clark, Mark Hubbard, Lee Hodges and Denny McCarthy.
McIlroy, a 23-time PGA winner, had struggled after missing the cut at the Masters and sharing 47th at Quail Hollow, where he’s a three-time champion.
But he shared seventh at the PGA Championship two weeks ago at Oak Hill despite feeling uncomfortable over the ball and has found better form with the US Open two weeks away.
“I’m feeling more comfortable than I felt at Oak Hill,” McIlroy said. “I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent. But I’m battling and I’m hanging in there and the course is playing really tough.
“It feels better. I did a lot of real good work last week. I feel like I’m not fighting the club face as much as I have been so I’m able to release it a little bit more and have a little more trust in it.
“And with how tough it’s playing this week, you need to trust it.”
