KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – This wasn’t Augusta National circa 2011, but for a time it was looking frighteningly familiar.
Through 13 holes Rory McIlroy, who opened the PGA Championship with a 67 to claim a spot on the Day 1 leaderboard, appeared to be headed toward another disappointing major. He was 4 over for that stretch on a windswept day at Kiawah before finding two rare birdies coming in for a 75.
“I limited the damage as much as I could, and I’m in a good position going into the weekend so I can’t really ask for much more,” said McIlroy, who is 2 under par and tied for fifth place.
McIlroy, who has not finished better than 25th in a major since winning last year’s U.S. Open, will begin the final round just two shots back.
“Anything can happen over 36 holes, especially in weather like this, so I’m pleased going into the weekend,” McIlroy said. “I said at the start of the week that I wanted to just give myself a chance going into Sunday and if I have a solid one tomorrow, I’ll hopefully be able to do that.”