Newtown Square (United States) (AFP) – Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg were among five players sharing the clubhouse lead late in Saturday’s final round of the PGA Championship, setting the stage for an epic Sunday showdown at Aronimink. Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion, closed with a bogey to shoot a three-under par 67 and stand on four-under 206. Sweden’s Aberg, Germany’s Matti Schmid and Canada’s Nick Taylor, who each fired 65, and England’s Aaron Rai, who also shot 67 after a closing bogey, were also on 206.
American Alex Smalley, an 18-hole co-leader, birdied the 15th hole to grab the overall lead at five-under. Second-ranked Rory McIlroy, who won his sixth major title at last month’s Masters, and fellow major winners Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele were in a pack one stroke back on 207. “Some hole locations are a little more generous, but there are still some that have been tucked away,” McIlroy said. “We just keep learning a little bit more about the golf course and getting a little more comfortable and that’s what you’re seeing today.”
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There were 41 players on level par or better within four strokes of the lead, with 21 within two, what would be a major record. “I’m not overly surprised,” Rahm said of the packed leaderboard. “It’s an extremely difficult golf course…you have to play really good golf to give yourself a chance out there.”
Top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler fired a 71 to finish on 209, only three back. A breakout day at Aronimink saw more than a dozen players rise into the lead and fall back after two rounds of brisk winds and tough pin placements on sloped greens had kept leaders bunched. Rahm, trying to become the first Spaniard to capture the PGA crown, sank birdie putts of 22 feet at the first hole and 30 feet at the par-three fifth. “That was a fantastic round of golf and thrilled to be in a good position for tomorrow,” Rahm said.
Rahm has won the past two LIV Golf season titles and has two wins and three runner-up efforts to lead this season. Rai, who birdied six of the first 11 holes, hopes to become the first Englishman to take the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes won the first two editions in 1916 and 1919. “Amazing to be in this position. A lot of really good golf to be here,” Rai said. “I also know there’s such a long way to go. A lot of things can and will change tomorrow.”
McIlroy shot 66 with six birdies in the first 13 holes and a bogey at the par-three 17th. “I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow,” McIlroy said. Taylor, who missed the cut in 11 of his past 14 major starts, had a bogey-free round. “Bogey-free around here is no easy task, so I’m proud of that,” Taylor said. “It was nice to have momentum.”
Schmid, making his PGA Championship debut in only his fifth major start, is not worried about a star-studded set of rivals. “Definitely not the center of attention, but I still have to focus on myself,” Schmid said. “Hopefully it leads to a really good round and then we’ll see.”
Ripe for the taking was a record $20.5 million prize purse announced Saturday by the PGA of America, $1.5 million more than last year. The winner will collect $3.69 million, $270,000 more than Scheffler made last year, with $2.214 million to the runner-up.
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