Saturday at the BMW Championship served up a thriller as Keegan Bradley wrestled back his lead from Adam Scott to head the pack by one heading into the final round.
The wind played a factor on round three in the altitude as the course was fighting back. Ludvig Åberg too had a fine round, leading by three shots after just five holes before dropping back to third spot, on -10, and three strokes off Bradley’s lead. Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy carded matching rounds of two-under to sit 18th and ninth respectively.
“For sure. It was tough out there today,” commented Bradley. “It was really windy, a lot of elevated tees that were into the wind, which makes it really tough. Proud of the way I fought today. I played some brilliant golf but I hit also some terrible shots, too. I guess that’s the way of the world. But I’m proud of the way I fought there in the end.”
McIlroy had an up-and-down day in the windy conditions, carding six birdies on his way around with a pair handed back on either nine, including back-to-back bogeys from the par-4 13th. His five-under for the tournament sees him seven adrift of Bradley and with only eight men between them, Rory had an opportunity for a decent pay day should he manage to narrow the gap on Sunday.
Lowry matched McIlroy’s score for round three however his round was a more serene affair from the Holywood man’s. A pair of birdies on either-nine including on the par-fives the eighth and the 17th with just the one bogey per nine for the Offaly man. Decent showing will be required from Lowry to avoid any disasters and ensure his spot at East Lake.
Alex Morem is not out of the equation for Sunday either, his two-under, 70 leaves him tied with Compatriot Ludvig Åberg on -10 and just three shy of the lead. Xander Schauffele rounds off the top five on seven-under-par after a strong showing on Saturday, carding a five-under 67 and moving up the order.
“Yesterday I kind of got a little mixed up and was a little bit out of sorts,” said Schauffele as he summed up his game.
“Today was a little weird, too, starting out. I kind of got gusted, I think, on 3. I hit an 8-iron that literally went — I got like 25 yards of hurt, which we haven’t had all week. I kind of was posing, and it was a little embarrassing for that thing to hit the wall and go in the water 20 yards off. Then hit a flagstick a hole later. Felt like I had to dig deep in my little patience bucket that’s running thin this late in the year on a Saturday. But lucky to sort of turn it around and hit some good shots coming in.”
Sunday’s action kicks off with Shane Lowry off from the first at 5.05pm with Corey Connors while McIlroy begins his final round at 5.35pm. The lead duo of Bradley and Scott will duke it out in the final pairing on Sunday. They take to the course shortly after their Swedish challengers at 6.30pm Irish time in what is shaping up to be an intriguing final day in Castle Rock.
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