UPDATE: World No.1 Rory McIlroy burst out of a logjam of players late to take control after the third round of the PGA Championship, sitting well poised for a fourth major.
McIlroy shot a four-under 67 to push out to 13 under for the tournament, good enough for a one-shot lead as he looks to win back-to-back majors and a third win in as many starts.
Austrian Berndt Wiesberger made a huge run up the boards with a 65 to be 12-under-par and into second place.
American Rickie Fowler (67), who has finished inside the top five of the previous three majors of the year, including runner-up finishes at the US and British Opens, is just two back.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson (67) is fourth at 10 under joined by Australia’s Jason Day.
Day held a share of the lead on both the front and back sides of the course but faded late to fall three off the pace.
The Queenslander held a share of the lead after birdies at the fourth hole and again at the 13th hole but ultimately failed to take full advantage of soft scoring conditions, settling for a two-under 69.
McIlroy birdied three of the last four holes to wrestle control of the tournament.
Earlier Day created one of the tournament highlights with a miracle par.
After hooking his drive on the second hole way left into dense knee-high cabbage, and needing to remove his shoes and hitch up his pants to wade across a creek to find it, Day decided to attempt to play his second shot bare foot.
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He wedged out into the right rough, hit his third to 10 feet and buried the putt much to the surprise of all in attendance.
After a par at the third and watching overnight leader McIlroy hook his tee ball into the water on the drivable par-four fourth, Day stepped up and laced his driver to the green, leaving just 14 feet for eagle.
He missed the putt but made a tap-in birdie, joining McIlroy at the top of the leaderboard.
The pair matched birdies on the fifth hole to be the first players to double digits under par before Day bogeyed the sixth and McIlroy birdied the seventh to get two in front.
Day slid in a birdie on the 13th to join a logjam at the top but a wild drive on the 16th and a subsequent bogey while others surged stalled his tilt.
A final hole birdie left him close enough if good enough on Sunday.
Adam Scott made an early run with three birdies in his opening five holes but cooled off, making a run of nine pars before his fourth birdie of the round on the 16th and another on the final hole.
His five-under 66 left him seven under for the week, six back and tied 13th.
“It was good solid round. Obviously to have no bogeys is good but I probably left a couple out there. It seems like four or five under is about even par today,” Scott said.
“I got off to a perfect start and just missed a couple good chances. Could have been the putts, could have been the chips. Something needed to be a bit better there.
“I am probably too far back unless there is something special in there tomorrow.”
Geoff Ogilvy shot 71 to remain two under for the championship joined by Matt Jones after he carded a 72.
Marc Leishman also shot 72 to be one over for the tournament and out of the mix in a tie for 63rd.
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DAY ONE:
England’s Lee Westwood and American Kevin Chappell started hot, while Jason Day is inside the top 10 midway through the opening round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
Westwood and Chappell carded six-under rounds of 65 to hold the early lead with Day getting in the house with a 69 to be two-under and tied 10th.
World No.2 Adam Scott failed to get any decent rhythm in his opening round, forced to watch Westwood pull away in his group as he battled to an even-par 71.
American Jim Furyk and Italian Edoardo Molinari sat third at five under.
Westwood, considered one of the best players to have not won a major, birdied five of his last six holes to leave Scott and others in his wake.
“I played well, hit a lot fairways, putted nicely, obviously, which you need to do if you are going to shoot a low score,” Westwood said.
“I gave myself a lot of chances. All in all there were no real weaknesses out there.”
Day, entering the event off the back of a withdrawal in Ohio, hit the ball solidly and made three birdies but failed to take advantage with his putter.
The Queenslander missed four makeable birdie putts, one from just two feet, and three putted the 16th green for his lone bogey.
“I had a couple of costly three-putts but I played good and I’m excited about my start,” Day said.
“A score is really out there if you hit your shots and while I could have been lower I am really pleased with a solid start to the tournament.”
Scott had to birdie his final hole of the day to get back even with the card after an uncharacteristically poor striking day.
“I just didn’t have any rhythm in my swing, right from the first shot of the day, and it can be a battle like that sometimes,” he said.
Australian Marc Leishman was rocking at three under through 13 holes but dropped three shots, heading home for an even-par 71.
Tiger Woods, the champion in 2000 when the PGA Championship was last at Valhalla, never looked overly comfortable on the way to a three-over 74.
In doubt with a back injury in the lead-up, the 14-time major winner made just one birdie with his four bogeys.
“It wasn’t very good,” Woods said.
“A lot of bad shots and I never got a putt to the hole.”
Matt Jones, John Senden, Stuart Deane, Steven Bowditch and Geoff Ogilvy head out in the afternoon wave.
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