Rory McIlroy Secures Strong Finish in BMW Championship Round
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Saturday 22 August 2026 23:09, UK Rory McIlroy pulled himself back into contention at the BMW Championship with a strong finish for a five-under par third round in St Louis.
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BBC SportRory McIlroy struck a five-under 65 to move to joint-second on day three at the BMW Championship.
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McIlroy has been looking for a response after labouring to an eight-over finish at last week's St Jude Championship, and shot a fine six-under opening round for a share of the lead, before following that up with a 69 on Friday.
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Bleacher ReportMcIlroy's shot 64, 69 and 65 so far this week in St. Louis. The three low scores are a good sign for what he can do next week.
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Clark pulls away from field for 5-shot BMW lead Wyndham Clark made five birdies and an eagle in an eight-hole stretch to finish with a 5-under 65 and a five-shot lead at the BMW Championship.
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Yahoo SportsClark Seizes Command at Bellerive Wyndham Clark has taken total control of the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. After a shaky start, the former U.S. Open champion surged to a commanding five-shot lead heading into the final round. ESPN Golf reported that Clark finished with a 5-under 65 on Saturday to reach 12-under for the tournament. This margin marks the second time this year he has held a lead of at least five shots entering Sunday. The last time was at the U.S. Open, where he held on to win by one stroke for his second major title.
Bleacher ReportWyndham Clark ran away from the field on Saturday at the BMW Championship. The two-time major champion broke open a five-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay at Bellerive Country Club.
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Clark then went on to birdie the 13th and 14th holes to move further away from the rest of the field.
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Yahoo SportsThe path to this lead was far from smooth. Clark lost the advantage immediately on the first hole with a double bogey. He hit his tee shot into the rough, missed a short par putt, and fell one shot behind Gary Woodland. However, the momentum shifted quickly. Clark mounted a furious rally, making five birdies and an eagle over an eight-hole stretch. The crowd watched as he turned a deficit into a massive cushion, leaving the field chasing a player who looks unstoppable.
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McIlroy's round allowed him to move into a tie for second place alongside Patrick Cantlay.
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Yahoo SportsRory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay are tied for second place, but the gap to the leader is significant. McIlroy secured a 65 by sinking three consecutive birdies late in his round and parrying a bunker shot on the 18th. Cantlay birdied the final hole for a 66. Despite their strong finishes, they face a steep climb. McIlroy noted his deficit was significant to overcome. "But if I focus on myself, try to shoot a good score — I shot a 64 and a 65 this week — shoot something similar tomorrow, you never know"
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The Northern Irishman rolled in birdies on the 11th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes. He also gave a shot back to the course with a bogey at the 14th.
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BBC SportThe Northern Irishman improved from a day two round of 69 that cost him his first-day lead, birdieing four of the last six holes to move up to second spot on 12 under.
4 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Sky Sports The back-to-back Masters champion again appeared in steady form during the front nine on Saturday, turning at one under after a birdie on the par-three second before another on 11.
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02 Yahoo Sports The Surge and the Chase According to ESPN Golf, the turning point came on the par-5 eighth hole where Clark hit a 5-wood to 12 feet for an eagle. This shot ignited a run where he looked like he could not miss. He had been bogey-free through 36 holes prior to this round, showing incredible consistency. The only time he faced real stress on the course was on the 10th hole during Thursday's round, where he had to sink an 18-foot putt to save par. Since then, he has been rock solid.
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03 BBC Sport Published BMW Championship - third-round leaderboard -17 W Clark (US); -12 R McIlroy (NI), P Cantlay (US); -11 C Gotterup (US), G Woodland (US); -10 C Morikawa (US); -9 S J Im (Kor); -8 M McNealy (US), R Hisatsune (Jpn), E Cole (US), JJ Spaun (US)
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04 Bleacher Report While Clark is the story at the top, there are many other storylines to follow going into Sunday.
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Sources (5)
- bbc-sport
- espn
- skysports
- bleacherreport
- yahoosports