Rory McIlroy's 2026 PGA Championship progression reminds of 2025 Masters
There was no panic by Rory McIlroy after his opening 74 here at the PGA Championship. He’s already overcome that deficit once before to win a major.
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – There was no panic by Rory McIlroy after his opening 74 here at the PGA Championship. He’s already overcome that deficit once before to win a major.
Seven back to start his second round, McIlroy finds himself squarely in the mix at Aronimink after rounds of 66-67. He was the clubhouse leader at 3 under when he finished his third round. For inspiration Thursday night, all he needed to recall was last year’s Masters, when a sloppy second-nine finish on the opening day left him seven back.
By the start of the final round, he was two shots clear. In other words: There was plenty of golf left. “A lot of things can happen during the course of a golf tournament,” he said Saturday.
“I’ve progressively got a little bit closer to the lead each day. ” The same thing has unfolded here at the PGA, where McIlroy closed with four consecutive bogeys for the first time in his career to shoot 4 over on Day 1. Still, after a range session to try to correct his errant driver, McIlroy was relieved to see he was – again – just seven shots back after the opening day.