Rory McIlroy, 2 strokes behind leader, in final pairing at Wells Fargo Championship
Rory McIlroy will tee off in the final pairing for Sunday’s final round at the Wells Fargo Championship.
He continued to surge up the leaderboard on Saturday, and at one point held a slim lead, before Keith Mitchell overtook him. McIlroy shot a 3-under-par 68 for the day and is 7-under overall. Mitchell shot a 5-under 66, one of the best rounds of the day, and is at 9-under.
McIlroy had four birdies on the front nine and one birdie on the back nine. His only mistake was a double bogey on No. 12.
McIlroy is the only two-time winner of the Wells Fargo Championship, which was founded in 2003. He won it in 2010 and again in 2015, setting the course record for lowest total score (264) and largest margin of victory (seven strokes).
But he hasn’t won a PGA Tour tournament since May 17, 2020.
Mitchell was the surprise of the day. He has one PGA Tour tournament win on his resume, which came in the 2019 Honda Classic. He has one top-10 finish in 17 events this season.
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson, who led the field after carding a 64 in the first round, continued to fall down the leaderboard. He finished the third round at 2-over after carding a 76. He is currently tied for 55th.
Here are some notable tee times for Sunday:
▪ Keith Mitchell (-9), Rory McIlroy (-7): 1:40 p.m.
▪ Gary Woodland (-7), Luke List (-6): 1:30 p.m.
▪ Satoshi Kodaira (-5), Scott Stallings (-5): 1:20 p.m.
▪ Jason Duffner (-4), Vicktor Hovland (-4): 1:10 p.m.
▪ Patrick Reed (-4), Kyle Stanley (-4): 1 p.m.
▪ Abraham Ancer (-4), Matt Wallace (-4): 12:50 p.m.
▪ Richy Werenski (-3), Cameron Davis (-3): 12:40 p.m.
▪ Bubba Watson (-3), Aaron Wise (-2): 12:30 p.m.
▪ Xander Schauffele (-2), Russell Knox (-2): 12:20 p.m.
▪ Vincent Whaley (-2), Joel Dahmen (-2): 12:05 p.m.
▪ Carlos Ortiz (-2), Scott Piercy (-2): 11:55 a.m.
▪ Bryson DeChambeau (-1), Lanto Griffin (-1): 11:45 a.m.
▪ Justin Thomas (E), J.T. Poston (E): 10:10 a.m.
▪ Phil Mickelson (+2), Stewart Cink (+2): 8:50 a.m.
This story was originally published May 8, 2021 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Rory McIlroy, 2 strokes behind leader, in final pairing at Wells Fargo Championship."
