Rory McIlroy is tied for the lead with 27 holes remaining in the PGA Championship.
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. ?The way Rory McIlroy sees it, Sunday is special because it뭩 the day the Wanamaker Trophy will be decided.
So what if he has 27 holes to play? The 23-year-old Northern Irishman enters the decisive stretch tied for the lead at 6 under with Vijay Singh, so it doesn뭪 get much better than that.
밫he way I뭢 looking at it, I뭢 going into the final day of the final major of the season tied for the lead, so I mean, I can뭪 ask for much more,?he said. 밪o, you know, I don뭪 care if it뭩 going to be 27 holes, 18 holes, 36 holes; I뭢 just happy to be going in there in a good position.
밣hysically, it뭩 a big golf course. You know, playing 27 out there, it뭩 going to take its toll, especially at the end of the week. So just conserve my energy, get an early night tonight and make sure I뭢 rested and ready to go for tomorrow morning.?/P>
McIlroy had just finished off a 32 on the front nine when play was suspended, making five birdies but bogeying the ninth hole. Included in that front nine surge was a clutch par at the third hole after his tee shot lodged in the limb of a tree. The search went on for several minutes before slow-motion replays showed what had happened and the TV crew on the ground let him know.
밒뭢 like, how can it be stuck in this thing??McIlroy said with a smile. 밫here뭩 no branches, no leaves for it to be stuck in. But it had wedged itself in between the tree bark and the actual tree, so I was just happy to get it up and down for four and move on to the next. I thought it was very important to do that, especially after birdieing the first two holes.?/P>
McIlroy knew the conditions were more condusive to scoring on Saturday than on Friday when the winds were gusting over 30 mph. He thought some of the pins were easier and several tees had been moved up, as well, so he decided to have a go of it.
밒 felt, again, like the first day, today the pins were a little friendlier, so you could take a few chances here or there and go for them,?McIlroy said. 밠y short game saved me a little bit, too, on the front nine. I had a couple of great up and downs for pars to keep the good start going. I hit a couple of great iron shots into the par 3s on the fifth and on the eighth, which turned out to be birdies.
밚ook, when you뭨e an aggressive player, you뭨e going to have days where it doesn뭪 go so well and then you뭨e also going to have days like this. I뭢 just happy that a day like that came today.?/P>
If McIlroy goes on to win the PGA Championship he would be younger than Tiger Woods was when he won his second major championship. Woods was 23 years, 7 months and 15 days old when he captured the 1999 PGA. McIlroy is currently 23 years, 3 months and 8 days old.
The Northern Irishman appears to be regaining the kind of form that saw him win The Honda Classic earlier this year. He came to Kiawah Island with momentum after tying for fifth at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and McIlroy hasn뭪 missed a beat this week.
밒뭭e come in here with a little bit of confidence from the way I played last week,?McIlroy said. 밒t뭩 just been nice to take that into this week and show it out on the golf course. You know, there뭩 still a lot of guys with a chance to win going into tomorrow; 27 holes left, you뭭e still got a long way to go.
밒뭭e put myself in a nice position going into tomorrow. And I said here on Wednesday, and that뭩 all I really wanted to do, just put myself into position, and I뭭e been able to do that.?/P>