Eighteen holes sit between Rory McIlroy and an impressive piece of symmetry. In September 2025, McIlroy claimed a second Irish Open title in euphoric scenes at the K Club. Five months earlier, he had won the Masters.
At Wentworth on Sunday, McIlroy will take off in hot pursuit of a second PGA Championship crown. As was the case last year, he is the reigning Masters champion. Another season that will inevitably be defined by Augusta National could find itself with a cherry on top.
I have had half-chances here and there since then, but tomorrow is a great opportunity. I first came here as a 10-year-old to watch the World Match Play with my mum and dad. I have played this tournament so many times, I have been able to win this event and now I have a house on the estate.
I have a lot of history here, a 27-year history.” Indeed, the 2014 point at which McIlroy won at Wentworth feels like a lifetime ago. On a wonderfully compacted leaderboard, McIlroy will begin round four two shots adrift of a pair of unlikely lads. Filippo Celli and Manuel Elvira are 358th and 294th in the world rankings, which makes their 54-hole prominence here rather extraordinary.
Both made birdies at the last to reach 13 under par. Alejandro del Rey, Johannes Veerman and JJ Spaun are one shy of the lead. Spaun arrived in Surrey with a point to prove after being overlooked for the United States Presidents Cup team.
Del Rey and Veerman shot 64 on day three. So, too, did Kristoffer Reitan, who has Joaquin Niemann, Adam Scott and Davis Bryant for scoring company alongside McIlroy at minus 11. For the second time in three days, Scott missed an apparently straightforward eagle opportunity on the 18th green.
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