Billy Horschel, Matteo Manassero and Rory McIlroy were the penultimate group out on Saturday at the BMW PGA Championship, and they didn’t disappoint, with all three remaining firmly in contention for the title with one round to play at Wentworth.
Manassero leads the way on 18-under, after he produced a bogey-free round of nine-under that included seven birdies and an eagle.
Three behind him is McIlroy, who is looking to bounce back from the disappointment of being pipped to last week's Irish Open title by Rasmus Hojgaard. Like Manassero, McIlroy also had a blemish-free round, with an eagle and four birdies for a six-under 66.
As for Horschel, he bogeyed the seventh and 15th, but he more than made up for those setbacks with nine birdies to complete a seven-under 65 to head into Sunday’s final round level with McIlroy.
A look at the leaderboard also tells us that, taken together, the three produced an incredible better ball score of just 58!
After all three players made par on the first, Manassero’s birdie on the second was the best effort of the three, before the trio each parred the third. Both McIlroy and Manassero then eagled the fourth, with further pars for the three on the fifth and sixth holes.
McIlroy then outperformed his two playing partners on the seventh with a birdie, before Horschel birdied the eighth and ninth holes to leave the three with a combined eight-under at the turn.
McIlroy and Horschel then both birdied the 10th, with the American’s fine form continuing on the 11th, with another birdie, before he and Manassero birdied the 12th. Horschel then made his sixth successive birdie on the 13th, and he made that seven in a row on the 14th, which Manassero also birdied.
Although Horschel bogeyed the 15th, the other two made par before Manassero birdied the 16th. More birdies followed for McIlroy and Manassero on the 17th before Horschel and Manassero then birdied the 18th to leave the trio on a combined 22-under for the round!
Afterwards, McIlroy reflected on the success of the group, saying: "I think Billy made seven birdies in the middle of the round. When you're playing in a group like that, it's always great to be a part of."
As the three players at the top of the leaderboard, Manassero, McIlroy and Horschel are grouped together again for the final round and, with the trio in such incredible form, another day of low scoring appears to be in the offing. The group gets underway at 7.05am ET (12.05pm BST).
