Two outsiders lead, chaos behind them
Spaniard Manuel Elvira and Italy’s Filippo Celli share the lead at the BMW PGA Championship on 13 under after the third round at Wentworth. Both men birdied the 18th to edge one shot clear of a packed chasing group. Neither has won on the DP World Tour yet. Elvira said it after a 68: he feels ready.
Celli, 26, carded a 69 built around four birdies on the back nine. His approach at the last clipped a wooden fence beside the stream before finishing in the greenside bunker rather than the water. He got up and down for birdie. The wind made life awkward all day, and the Italian admitted he spent most of the front nine just hanging on.
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McIlroy’s eagle changes everything
Rory McIlroy produced the shot of the day. An eagle at the 18th lifted him into the group tied for sixth on 11 under, two behind the leaders. Adam Scott, Joaquin Niemann, Davis Bryant and Kristoffer Reitan are right there with him.
The headline stat from Saturday: 20 players head into the final round within four shots of the lead. On a course this long, with the wind all over the place, that kind of traffic jam makes Sunday impossible to call.
Alejandro Del Rey and Johannes Veerman both shot 64s, eight under par, to finish the day on 12 under alongside JJ Spaun. Robert MacIntyre posted a bogey-free back nine and sits 11th on 10 under, with Ludvig Åberg, Ryan Fox, Matt Wallace and Sam Bairstow.
Rai stalls, Fitzpatrick charges
Aaron Rai, co-leader after the opening round, could not move forward and ends the day on 9 under. Matt Fitzpatrick went the other way and joins him there, three shots off the top, along with Ryan Gerard, halfway leader Alex Noren and Jordan Smith.
Adam Scott summed up the day’s challenge. Good scores kept popping up on the board, even if they never seemed there for the taking out on the course. One step forward, two back, no rhythm to be found.
Sunday will sort it out. Twenty players, four shots, and a golf course that has not made anyone comfortable all week.
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