Justin Rose carded a third-round 65 to reach two under par on moving day at the PGA Championship, putting him in position for Sunday after surviving a near-miss at the halfway cut. The improvement comes as his controversial McLaren-designed irons finally produ
Justin Rose needed to feel the grass again, and moving day at the PGA Championship finally gave him that spark.. After the wider noise around McLaren-designed clubs and the fuss that came with them. Rose delivered a third-round 65 that lifted him toward Sunday—while also standing out for how close he came to missing the halfway cut.
A chip-in eagle on Friday, coming from the “old swinger” style that helped him secure his place in the weekend, became the kind of early turning point that mattered. Then, in his third loop, Rose capitalised with authority, completing the round in 65 strokes to reach two under par.
Aronimink Golf Club, though, had a different feel on Saturday than it did amid Friday’s problems.. Gentler breezes helped. but Rose’s response also coincided with a change in course set-up after Scottie Scheffler criticised the ‘absurd’ pin positions.. With conditions eased. Rose’s front nine produced a run of scoring: five birdies in a 30-stroke stretch—four straight beginning at the third hole—plus another highlight at the 13th. where a bunker recovery led to birdie.. His only blemish of the day came at the next hole after that.
Because later starters faced marginally tougher winds, the scoring sweep of moving day was always likely to vary. Still, the birdies coming early offered a real question mark over just how high the eventual bar might be.
Rose’s push up the leaderboard also carried extra weight because it followed a decision many questioned when it was first made.. After finishing 65th and 45th in his two starts since pivoting to new McLaren irons. the 45-year-old had been taking on faith that the change might not pay off immediately—especially given how rarely such adjustments deliver quick rewards.. Yet at Aronimink. he looked different: he hit all bar two greens in regulation. and during a streak of four birdies none of them required a putt beyond 11 feet.. Even when the back nine tightened, his putting saved three pars from beyond four feet.
“I played so poorly the last few weeks but I’m very confident (with the new irons),” Rose said. “I’m very experienced, I’m very curious, I’m very detail oriented, so I won’t be doing anything stupid.”
He added that he knew the equipment would work only because of the work behind it.. “I know these things are great.. I’ve worked really hard on the process so it was good to kind of play well today and see the evidence of that statistically.. If you put a poor move on it, I don’t care what clubs you’re playing.”
Rose also set his own target for how much distance the leaders should extend. “I’m hoping the lead doesn’t stretch more than six or seven. That’s kind of what I’m very happily sitting here hoping for.”
And with the leaderboard packed so tightly, he pointed to the chance the day offered.. “It’s such a bunched leaderboard this week.. Even from day one. it was surprisingly bunched. with three under par leading and even par being like 35th or whatever it was.. It kind of offered the opportunity to make a run today and get in the tournament.. We’ll see how the leaderboard looks at the end of the day.”
Alongside Rose, the day’s scoring punch was underlined by two other matching 65s.. Kristoffer Reitan and Chris Kirk each shot 65 to reach two under as well, joining Rose on the same number.. Kirk briefly matched the overnight leaders of Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealey on four under. but then doubled the last after a three-putt from 45 feet.
Rory McIlroy, another still-on-the-course star, moved in the right direction too. After improving by five strokes, he reached four under with five holes left to play.
McIlroy’s progress came into focus through one standout moment on his front nine.. On the 397-yard par four at the sixth hole. he finally found a line after earlier struggles with keeping tee shots within Pennsylvania.. He drove the green with a high draw, two-putted for birdie, and added three birdies across his front nine.. The missed putt from four feet on the fourth hole was his only bogey through 14 holes. followed by birdies on the 11th and 13th.
The day’s story is stitched together by timing and conditions: Rose’s best scoring came after Saturday’s gentler breezes and a less harsh pin set-up. the same period in which his birdie streak grew on the front nine.. With matching 65s also produced by Reitan and Kirk—alongside McIlroy’s five-stroke improvement to four under—the leaderboard movement on moving day links the scoring potential to a shared surge across multiple players. even as tougher winds for later starters added uncertainty about how high the mark could go.
PGA Championship Justin Rose McLaren irons Aronimink Golf Club Rory McIlroy Kristoffer Reitan Chris Kirk leaderboard