Rahm and McIlroy make Saturday charge

Alex Smalley took a two-shot lead into the final round of the PGA Championship after a third-round 68 at Aronimink Golf Club on Saturday, leaving a crowded group of pursuers behind him. The 29-year-old American reached 6-under 204 through 54 holes, according to the PGA Championship’s official leaderboard. Jon Rahm’s Saturday charge moved him into a tie for second at 4-under, while Rory McIlroy climbed to 3-under and into a tie for seventh. Saturday’s leaderboard tightened rather than cleared. Matti Schmid, Nick Taylor, Aaron Rai and Ludvig Aberg joined Rahm in the group at 4-under, two shots behind Smalley, while McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed and Maverick McNealy sat another stroke back at 3-under. The PGA Championship’s official site listed 22 players within four shots of the lead after the third round. (pgachampionship.com) ### How did Smalley get to the top? Smalley recovered from a 2-over 37 on the front nine with a 4-under 31 on the back, including three birdies over his last four holes, the PGA Championship said in its round-three recap. That left him alone at the top after 54 holes and gave him his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, according to the same report. (pgachampionship.com) “The wind was certainly up when we first started the round,” Smalley said, according to the PGA Championship recap. He said the course “was playing fairly difficult” early before conditions eased later in the day. ### Where did Rahm make his move? (pgachampionship.com) Rahm finished Saturday tied for second at 4-under, the official leaderboard showed. That placed the former major champion directly in the final-round chase group and within two shots of the lead entering Sunday. Nick Taylor, Aaron Rai, Ludvig Aberg and Matti Schmid also ended the day at 4-under. (pgachampionship.com) Their presence alongside Rahm left no single marquee challenger behind Smalley and instead produced a five-man tie for second. ### How close is McIlroy? McIlroy ended the third round at 3-under, tied for seventh, three shots behind Smalley. (pgachampionship.com) Golf Channel’s live coverage showed him making an opening birdie and later driving the green on the 397-yard sixth hole during his round. Golf Channel reported before play that McIlroy began the day five shots off the lead through 36 holes. (pgachampionship.com) By the end of the round, he had cut that gap to three and remained in a group that also included Schauffele, Reed and McNealy. ### How packed is the leaderboard behind them? The official leaderboard showed Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, at 1-under and tied for 23rd after 54 holes. Justin Rose, Joaquin Niemann, Chris Kirk, Hideki Matsuyama and Cameron Smith were among the players at 2-under, still within four shots of Smalley. (golfchannel.com) CBS Sports reported that 22 players were within four shots of the lead after 54 holes. That left the final round set up with contenders spread across much of the afternoon tee sheet rather than concentrated in one or two pairings. ### Who plays with whom on Sunday? (pgachampionship.com) The PGA Championship posted final-round starting times for Sunday, May 17, with Smalley and Schmid in the last group at 2:35 p.m. Nick Taylor and Rahm are scheduled to tee off at 2:25 p.m., and Aaron Rai and Ludvig Aberg at 2:15 p.m. (cbssports.com) McIlroy is set to play with Xander Schauffele at 2:05 p.m., while Patrick Reed and Maverick McNealy go at 1:55 p.m. The first twosome, Casey Jarvis and Brian Campbell, is scheduled for 7:40 a.m. Sunday at Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. (pgachampionship.com)