Italy’s Filippo Celli and Spain’s Manuel Elvira share the lead at the BMW PGA Championship, with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy lurking just two shots back entering the final round at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
Celli shot a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday while Elvira carded a 68 to join him at 13 under for the tournament through three rounds. Spain’s Alejandro Del Rey (64) and Americans J.J. Spaun (68) and Johannes Veerman (64) are one shot off the pace at 12 under.
Another shot back sits a group that includes McIlroy (69) , Australia’s Adam Scott (71), Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan (64), Chile’s Joaquin Niemann (67) and American Davis Bryant (67).
McIlroy kept himself in the thick of the hunt at the $9 million event with his third consecutive sub-70 round of the week. He was 1 under for the day when the world’s No. 2-ranked player knocked his approach shot on the par-5 18th hole to inside two feet and converted the eagle putt.
“Obviously a great way to finish the day and keep myself within touching distance of the leaders,” said McIlroy, who was 5 under on Wentworth’s four par-5s on Saturday. “I think it was a day where you really had to take advantage of the par 5s. They were your scoring opportunities.”
McIlroy is 12 under on the par-5s for the week, with the eagle to go along with 10 birdies and a lone par.
The final round will begin with 20 players within four shots of the lead. Second-round leader Ryan Gerard will enter the final round chasing four shots after struggling to a 3-over 75 on Saturday.
“It’s going to be an interesting day,” McIlroy said. “There’s a lot of people around the lead. I think the conditions the last couple of days, that’s the reason it hasn’t let anyone get away from the pack just because it has played so tricky and difficult.
“Probably one of those days where you need to set a score for yourself or set a target for the front nine, and then as you enter the back nine, see where you stand and see what you need to do. I’ll probably try to not look at the leaderboards the front nine, and if I need to play a little bit more aggressive on the back, I’ll do it.”
With the marquee names chasing them, it will be difficult for Celli and Elvira to avoid scoreboard-watching.
Elvira, 30, ranked 294th in the Official World Golf Ranking, is seeking his first DP World Tour victory and had missed three of his past five cuts entering the week. He birdied the final hole on Saturday to pull into a share of the lead.
“I think I’m ready,” Elvira said. “I’ve been playing well the last few weeks. Obviously the results were not really coming my way but I just managed to stay patient this week and just have fun.”
Celli, 26, is 358th in the world and had missed three consecutive cuts since finishing runner-up at the Danish Golf Championship last month. That was the former TCU star’s second-best finish as a professional behind only his win at The Dutch Futures on the HotelPlanner Tour last year.
“I will try to be in the present, you know, and try to enjoy every single minute and see what happens,” Celli said. “I can’t wait, honestly, because it’s going to be very good. But now I just want to rest because I’m very tired. I will think about tomorrow, tomorrow.
“I’m very happy, though.”
