LAST UPDATE | 16 Sep 2023
SHANE LOWRY REMAINS in contention heading into the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, after shooting an impressive 67 to leave him seven shots off the lead.
Lowry picked up seven birdies and just one bogey to leave him on nine-under overall, staying in the hunt. Ludvig Aberg of Sweden leads the field on 16-under.
Four of Lowry’s birdies arrived between the second and eighth holes while his bogeys on the 10th and 17th holes were the only lowlights of a strong third-round display.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy matched Lowry with a 67 today. He’s six-under overall, after previous rounds of 72 and 71.
McIlroy, who started on the 10th, made a strong start as he birdied the 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes. A bogey on the first pegged him back, but he birdied on the fourth, fifth and eighth.
Tom McKibbin carded a two-under 70 which included four birdies and two bogeys to leave him on three-under.
Aberg’s meteoric rise shows no signs of slowing down after the Ryder Cup rookie cruised into a two-shot lead. Playing just his 10th event since turning professional, Aberg carded a third round of 66 at Wentworth to reach 16-under par in pursuit of back-to-back victories on the DP World Tour.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood delighted the large crowds with a 67 to share second place on 14 under with Scotland’s Connor Syme, who covered the back nine in 31 in a superb 65.
Masters champion Jon Rahm, who was two over par for the tournament after 21 holes, is four shots off the pace following a 66 which included vital birdies on the 17th and 18th.
Aberg, whose victory in the European Masters earlier this month earned him a Ryder Cup wild card from Europe captain Luke Donald hours later, admitted winning the BMW PGA Championship was “very, very high” on his bucket list.
“It is one of the biggest events on the DP World Tour, it’s been like that for a long time,” the 23-year-old said.
“I’ve got memories of Alex (Noren) winning here when he hit an unbelievable shot into 18. It’s really cool to see myself up there, I have to pinch myself in the arm every now and then but it’s quite cool.
“I think expectations just changed after Switzerland in terms of knowing I can do it. Even though I’ve won in college quite a bit it is different, whether you like it or not, to win on the pro stage and it was pretty cool to do that.
“I could tell myself that I could do it and was good enough and hopefully I’ll be able to do that tomorrow too.”
Fleetwood is also targeting a significant victory in front of a home crowd which roared him on every step of the way, the 32-year-old kickstarting his recovery from a slow start with an eagle on the fourth courtesy of a lesson from McIlroy.
“I had a lesson out of the rough from Rory on Monday when the Ryder Cup team were in Rome,” Fleetwood said.
“I always struggle to get steep on it and I am always chopping out of the rough so he just helped me with a couple of things on how better to do it really.
“It worked a couple of times today. The one with an eight iron on number four was good, it came out perfect and it is a new shot in my locker.”
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