A day that began with a former Amazon delivery man at the top of the leaderboard ended with an Italian once ranked 1,805th in the world in the driver’s seat but the familiar form of Rory McIlroy lurking in the rear-view mirror.
McIlroy kept himself in contention to lift the BMW PGA Championship for the first time since 2014 with a six-under 66 that left him three shots behind leader Matteo Manassero heading into the final round at Wentworth.
How much closer the Northern Irishman could have been, too, had he not found the water with his second shot into the par-5 18th when his ball struck the greenside bank and hopped back into the stream that guards the final hole.
McIlroy sunk a nervy 10-foot putt for par to keep his scorecard bogey-free before hot-footing it to Wembley to take his ringside seat to watch Anthony Joshua fight Daniel Dubois.
For so much of the day, it was McIlroy who was trading blows in the pouring rain with playing partners Manassero, who shot a remarkable nine-under par 63, and Billy Horschel who fired in seven birdies on the bounce, on an ever-changing leaderboard.
Rory McIlroy kept himself in contention to lift the BMW PGA Championship for the first time since 2014
McIlroy sunk a nervy 10-foot putt for par on the 18th hole to keep his scorecard bogey-free
A six-under 66 leaves him three shots behind leader Matteo Manassero (pictured) heading into the final round at Wentworth
McIlroy made eagle on the fourth and holed a 19-foot putt on the 10th for birdie but narrowly missed birdie and eagle putts on the 16th and 17th.
For McIlroy, it’s the chance not only to end a 10-year wait to win this competition but also put behind him the hurt of missing out on a maiden victory on home soil in the Irish Open last week.
McIlroy led by two with four to play at Royal County Down, a stone’s throw from where he grew up, only to make two bogeys and miss an eagle putt on the last that would have forced a play-off.
That, of course, following his capitulation at the US Open earlier this year.
‘It’s been a familiar story with my career,’ said McIlroy. ‘I have setbacks and I usually come back pretty well from them. Some are harder than others, obviously, but I think in this game you have to be resilient.
‘Some people think I took it [the Irish Open] harder than I actually did. I’m playing well. You have to recognise you’re going to lose a lot more than you win, and you have to accept that.
‘I’ve been on that accepting side this year, but it’s good to be back in the mix.
‘I haven’t won since May but given myself plenty of chances. I’m due but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily going to happen.
McIlroy then hot-footed it to Wembley to take his ringside seat to watch Anthony Joshua fight Daniel Dubois
West Ham fan Billy Horschel sits level with McIlroy at -15 heading into the last round
For McIlroy, it’s the chance not only to end a 10-year wait to win this competition but also put behind him the hurt of missing out on a maiden victory on home soil in the Irish Open last week
‘I’ve always liked being in this position, a couple back, trying to get off to a fast start. Hopefully, I can do that and put some pressure on early doors.’
McIlroy came back from seven shots in 2013 to win the DP World Tour’s flagship event on a course at which he’s in the process of building a house. This time, it’s just three.
Three, though, from a player in Manassero who birdied six of the last eight holes and is enjoying a second coming of a career that no one, not even he, expected.
Manassero won this event as a 19-year-old the year before McIlroy and was seen as a teenage superstar.
The youngest winner of the British Amateur in 2009 aged 16 and one month later claimed the silver medal at the Open for the leading amateur. At the time, he was also the youngest player to make the Masters cut.
Come 2020 and the boy from Verona was playing in the Alps Tour, European golf’s third tier, and plunged to a rank of 1,805th in the world. Even he admits he thought he might never get back to his best.
‘It’s fair to say I did,’ he said. ‘You are never sure until you do. It will mean a lot to win but it means a lot already to be here.’
If McIlroy were not in the hunt himself, he’d probably be cheering Manassero on. ‘To be a young phenom and then lose your game, and go play the Alps Tour … the character that you need to do that,’ added McIlroy. ‘It’s amazing to see.’
That, of course, following his capitulation at the US Open earlier this year
Manassero won this event as a 19-year-old the year before McIlroy and was seen as a teenage superstar
Matthew Baldwin, who was a delivery driver for Amazon two years ago, started the day atop the leaderboard
West Ham fan Horschel sits level with McIlroy at -15 heading into the last round after his seven-birdie streak helped him shoot a seven-under 65. ‘The hole looked like the size of the Atlantic Ocean,’ said Horschel.
Matthew Baldwin, who was a delivery driver for Amazon two years ago, started the day atop the leaderboard and remains in the mix four shots back after his round of 71.
‘I played nicely,’ he said. ‘I didn’t hole as many putts and missed a couple of short ones but I’m proud of the way I handled the situation and hopefully I can do a bit of damage.’