GOFFSTOWN, N.H. –  Sadena Parks fired a 5-under 67 and defeated fellow Big Break Florida contestant Jackie Stoelting on the second playoff hole to win her second event in three weeks at the New England Charity Classic presented by PTC on Sunday.

“It’s very exciting, I knew I had one more win under my belt,” said Parks, who won the SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills two weeks ago in Albany.  “Playing against Jackie was really, really hard, but we both put in a good fight and I can’t wait to see her on the LPGA Tour with me next year.”

Parks, who birdied five holes on the back nine, still had work to do on the 18^th hole to force a playoff.  She stood at 7-under, one back of Stoelting, who finished a 6-under 66 and was 8-under about an hour prior.

“I hit my drive right into the bunker and didn’t think I had a shot into the green.  I knew if I hit a punch 4-iron fade I could get it out and leave myself a little short.  It happened to roll on the green, which was awesome.  I left my third putt (eagle putt for the lead) a little short.”

Parks needed to make an 8-foot putt to force the playoff.

“I drained the putt, it was clutch. I think I threw a strong fist pump in there somewhere.”

Prior to the first playoff hole beginning, Stoelting and Parks, who are good friends from their days on Golf Channel, exchanged a friendly fist-pound to say good luck.

Parks and Stoelting both made birdie on the first playoff hole, which was the par-5 18^th hole.  The two proceeded to the par-4 17^th hole to play the second playoff hole.  Both players missed their birdie putts and Parks tapped in for par.  Stoelting had a longer look at par and lipped out.

“This second win just shows how much I’ve improved over the year.  It not only means a lot to me, but I know it means a lot to my fans, supporters and my team.”

Two weeks ago, Parks become the first African-American to win on the Symetra Tour since LaRee Sugg in 1997.  She is now the first African-American to win twice in the 34-year history of the Symetra Tour.

Parks moved from sixth to third on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with her $15,000 winner’s check.  The 24-year-old has now accumulated $51,615 in 13 events played.  She has made $43,596 in her last five events, which includes two wins and a solo second place finish.

“I don’t want to say that I have my LPGA Tour card yet, but it’s looking pretty good right now.”

With four events left in the season, Parks has all but solidified a spot in the top-10.

“Ever since I was nine years old, the LPGA Tour was my goal and it has been a long journey and now I am almost there.”

Parks becomes the third two-time winner on the Symetra Tour this year.  Min Seo Kwak, who ranks first on the Volvik Race for the Card money list and Marissa Steen, who is second on the money list, are the other two-time winners.

Stoelting earned her 16^th career top-10 finish on the Symetra Tour and her fifth this season to add $9,007 to her total earnings.  Stoelting jumped from seventh to sixth on the money list at $44,787.

The 28-year-old from Vero Beach, Florida birdied five of nine holes on the back nine including the 18^th to get to 8-under.

Lacey Agnew and Lindy Duncan finished in a tie for third at 7-under 209.  Duncan went from 16^th to tenth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

Samantha Richdale finished as top Canadian, tying for eighth at 5-under 211.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The challenge finally arrived for Rory McIlroy, and he was better than ever Sunday to win the PGA Championship.

On a back nine filled with clutch shots and as much tension as a major can provide, McIlroy emerged from a four-man race to outlast Phil Mickelson and the darkness at Valhalla to capture his second straight major.

McIlroy closed with a 3-under 68 and became only the fourth player in the last century of golf to win four majors at 25 or younger. The others were Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones, three of the game’s greatest players.

Boy Wonder appears on his way to belonging in that group.

“I didn’t think in my wildest dreams I’d have a summer like this,” said McIlroy, only the seventh player to win the last two majors of the year. “I played the best golf of my life. I really gutted it out today.”

But one of the greatest shows on soggy turf came with a most peculiar ending.

Three shots behind going to the back nine, McIlroy rallied to take the lead and then hit a 9-iron from the fairway bunker to 10 feet for birdie on the 17th hole for a two-shot lead going to the par-5 18th. Because of a two-hour rain delay earlier, darkness was falling quickly and it wasn’t certain McIlroy would be able to finish.

McIlroy was allowed to hit his tee shot before Mickelson and Rickie Fowler had reached their drives. Both were only two shots behind, still in the game. McIlroy came within a yard of hitting in a hazard right of the fairway.

Then, the PGA of America allowed McIlroy to hit his second shot. Mickelson and Fowler had to stand to the side of the green.

“We were cool with hitting the tee shot,” Fowler said. “We weren’t expecting the approach shots.”

Fowler had a 50-foot eagle attempt to tie for the lead. He was well off the mark, and missed the short birdie putt attempt that cost him his third straight runner-up finish in a major. Mickelson was short of the green, and his chip came within inches of dropping for an eagle that would have tied him for the lead.

Mickelson appeared upset that they had to wait to finish the hole – not standard procedure in a PGA Tour event – and he made two references in a TV interview that this is the only championship the PGA of America runs all year.

“It didn’t affect the outcome of the championship at all, I don’t think,” Mickelson said. “It’s not what we normally do. It’s not a big deal either way.”

Mickelson closed with a 66 and was runner-up for the ninth time in a major.

Fowler became the first player in history to finish in the top five at all four majors without winning one. He closed with a 68 and tied for third with Henrik Stenson, who fell out of a share of the lead by missing a 3-foot par putt on the 14th hole. Stenson shot a 66.

McIlroy hit his second shot into a bunker, and he had to two-putt from 35 feet for the win. He lagged the first one to tap-in range, and the major was his. McIlroy repeatedly pumped his fist before letting out a scream above the gallery that had been treated to one of the best shows ever in a major.

He won his first two majors by eight shots at the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship. Only a month ago, McIlroy took a six-shot lead into the final round of the British Open and completed a wire-to-wire win with only a brief scare.

This was his first big test, and it took some of his best golf to come through.

“I think I showed a lot of guts out there to get the job done,” he said.

The winning shot turned out to be that 9-iron from the bunker and the birdie putt on the 17th hole that gave him a two-shot lead, the largest margin for anyone on a day when as many as five players claimed a share of the lead.

It might not have been possible without a 3-wood on the par-5 10th hole.

Standing in the fairway, McIlroy watched Fowler drain a 30-foot birdie putt to take the outright lead. McIlroy was 281 yards away, slightly uphill, and his short caught the left side of the fairway and rolled onto the green before stopping 7 feet away for an eagle that got him back in the game.

Mickelson holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole to tie Fowler, and it looked to be his day when he rolled in a 30-foot par putt on the 12th. Stenson hit a bold shot to the island-green 13th for a short birdie to tie for the lead, only to fall back.

McIlroy caught the leaders with a birdie on the 13th.

None of the other contenders made another birdie the rest of the way until it was too late.

All that was left after an exhausting day of raw emotions was the coronation. Not since Woods in 2008 has anyone won three straight tournaments, and they were big ones for McIlroy – the British Open, a World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship. He played them in a combined 48-under par.

“He’s better than everyone else right now,” Mickelson said.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet tied for 15th, seven shots back of McIlroy at 9-under, after a final round 70.

Rory McIlroy (Jeff Gross/ Getty Images)

OTTAWA – With a dramatic 70-foot birdie putt and a final round 9-under 62, Summerland, B.C.’s Greg Machtaler captured the inaugural FORCES & FAMILIES OPEN on Sunday, becoming the first Canadian winner on PGA TOUR Canada in 2014.

The 30-year old made a brilliant charge up the leaderboard on Sunday, playing his final 11 holes in 9-under par, a run that included two eagles and a back nine 30. After finding the green at the 72^nd hole, Machtaler rolled in a long birdie putt to post the clubhouse lead at 17-under, then watched as neither American Jeff Dennis or Baddeck, N.S.’s Peter Campbell could match him with a birdie at the last.

When 54-hole leader Greg Eason of England couldn’t hole out for eagle to force a playoff, Machtaler was officially the champion, becoming the first Canadian to win since Max Gilbert at the 2013 TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial.

The win comes just under a year after Machtaler’s father Glenn passed away, a decision that spurred the 2007-2011 PGA TOUR Canada member to resume his chase for success on TOUR.

“As soon as it came off the putter it felt great,” said Machtaler of his final putt. “I can’t help but think my dad had something to do with that putt going in. There were a couple of moments at the end where it looked like it might go out and then it bounced back in, and it ended up going in and I really think he had something to do with it.”

“It’s been hard,” added the Brigham Young University alumnus. “Emotionally, you think about him all the time. You’re sad and you go through some moments where you wish you could see him one more time. To be able to win this for him, it kinds of makes a really tough situation just a little bit easier to deal with.”

Machtaler made 13 cuts in 24 starts from 2007-2011, then turned to work at Summerland Golf Club just east of Vancouver after playing just three times in 2011. A breakout season on the PGA of Canada circuit in 2013, however, where he won four times including the prestigious Canada Cup, led him to consider re-starting his TOUR career, a decision that payed off with his first PGA TOUR Canada win on Sunday.”

“I was very hesitant still,” Machtaler said of returning to playing on PGA TOUR Canada, where he earned status at the 2014 British Columbia Qualifying Tournament. “I had a good job for a couple of years, and you have that steady paycheck coming in and you still get to play some tournaments and I had some success. To come out here against these guys, they’re all so good, and you can’t play poorly. You can play good and miss a cut out here.”

The 2014 season had been a trying one until Sunday for Machtaler, who had been dealing with a back injury that had limited his ability to swing the club effectively. After ongoing treatment, the 30-year old said he finally a return to form was in the cards this week.

“I thought I was going to have to write off the year,” said Machtaler. “My back was just so bad, I couldn’t even swing. I just have to thank all the physio teams that I’ve worked with back home and on the road with PGA TOUR Canada. They’ve really helped me. It got the point where I could finally stop thinking about it and I could finally just let my swing go again.”

Machtaler teed off 1 hour and 40 minutes before the final group of Englishmen Greg Eason and Kelvin Day, and after holing his long birdie putt at 18, had to wait and see if he would be the champion. When Eason, who led after each of the first three rounds, couldn’t hole his approach from the right rough, the champion was crowned.

“It’s huge. It’s been a really, really tough year personally with trying to get over the loss of my dad so unexpectedly,” said Machtaler. “He would have wanted me to do it for sure, and that was the deciding factor, doing it for him.”

The win moves Machtaler to 9^th on the Order of Merit with four events to go. Machtaler said the win changes his outlook on the remainder of his season and career as he aims to make the next step on the path to the PGA Tour.

“Every player is just so good, so to be able to top a field of that many good players really gives me a lot of confidence and shows me that all the hard work’s been paying off,” Machtaler said. “I think I’m making the right decision to come back and play again.”

In addition to his win on Sunday, Greg Machtaler claimed Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week honours along with a $1,500 prize.

The top Canadian on the leaderboard at every PGA TOUR Canada event earns the weekly prize, with the top Canadian on the Order of Merit at season’s end earning Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year and a $10,000 prize.

BELMONT, Mich. – Mirim Lee won the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory, beating fellow South Korean player Inbee Park with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff.

“I (was) nervous 100 percent,” Lee said. “First time in playoff. Inbee Park is like a hero in Korea and all the young girls want to be her now in Korea.”

The long-hitting Lee drove into greenside bunker on the second extra hole – the short par-4 17th – and blasted out to 5 feet. After Park’s 15-foot birdie try lipped out, Lee holed her putt for the victory.

They each parred the 18th to open the playoff. Park’s approach shot hit the cup on the way past and she missed a 15-foot birdie try. Lee two-putted from 35 feet.

The 23-year-old Lee, a rookie on the LPGA Tour, closed with a 2-under 69 to match Park at 14-under 270 at Blythefield Country Club. Park, a 10-time tour winner, finished with a 70.

Lee is projected to jump to 29th in the world ranking. She earned $225,000 to jump from 40th to eighth on the money list with $414,135. Her previous best was a second-place finish in Phoenix in March.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen was a stroke back after a 69.

Park said the win will give Lee great confidence.

“I think she was kind of, you know, thinking about whether she should come to the LPGA or whether she should stay in KLPGA,” Park said. “but I think this will definitely make her see she made a good decision.”

Park said in the end the new blade putter she put in the bag this week let her down in the last round.

“I felt I hit a good putt, but it just didn’t go in,” she said of the final birdie attempt. “The putter just wasn’t there. It was nice to shoot under par, but Mirim played well in the playoff holes.”

Pettersen, seeking her first win this year after 14 in her career, said she just didn’t hit enough good shots or drives on the back nine in the final round.

“It’s nice to get four solid rounds of competition in,” she said. “I’ve struggled this year, but it is coming. Disappointed to be one short, but it was nice to be back in contention straight after a three-week break.”

With three holes to play, Park, Pettersen and Lee were tied for the lead 14 under, but Pettersen had tree and sand troubles and made a bogey at 16 to fall a shot behind.

Park and Lee each missed birdie chances at the 17th. On the 18th, Lee two-putted for par from 40 feet, and Park made a 6-foot par putt.

Pettersen, who was playing in the group in front of Park for the day, birdied the first two holes and eagled the par-5 fifth – hitting a 3-wood shot to 6 feet – to tie Park at 15 under.

Lee birdied the par-5 11th to pull within a shot of Park.

After 10 consecutive pars, Park three-putted the par-3 14th for a bogey. It happened about the same time Pettersen was punching a shot from the trees to eight feet at 15 to set up a birdie and another tie.

Lee, trailing most of the day by a shot or two, then joined Park and Pettersen at 14 under with a 5-foot birdie putt at 15.

Japan’s Haru Nomura was fourth at 10-under after a 68. Germany’s Sandra Gal, the first-round leader, was another stroke back after a 66.

Top-ranked Stacy Lewis had her best round of the week with a 66 to tie for 11th at 6 under.

The tournament was the first LPGA Tour event in Michigan since 2000 when the Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing ended its nine-year run.

Three Canadians played Sunday in Michigan. Lorie Kane finished at 1-over 285 and tied for 42nd. Alena Sharp tied for 50th, finishing at 2-over 286 and Rebecca Lee-Bentham tied for 67th 5-over 289.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Australia’s Cameron Percy won his first Web.Com Tour title Sunday, birdieing the final two holes for a one-stroke victory over four players in the Price Cutter Charity Championship.

The 40-year-old Percy, a five-time winner on the Australasian Tour, closed with a 5-under 67 to finish at 21-under 267 at Highland Springs. He earned $121,500 to jump from 33rd to 12th on the money list with $217,347. The top 25 after the final two regular-season events will earn 2014-15 PGA Tour cards.

“It feels unbelievable,” said Percy, making his 131st start on the tour. “I’ve been playing well for a while. To get out with a win feels fantastic.”

Brandt Jobe, Zac Blair, Michael Kim and Carlos Sainz Jr. tied for second. Jobe finished with a 65, Blair had a 66, and Kim and Sainz shot 67. Kim was penalized a stroke on No. 18 for lifting his ball in the rough.

“I was in the first primary cut and it’s been muddy all week,” Kim said. “I wanted to check if there was mud on the ball anywhere for the lay-up. I marked it, I picked it up, and I put it back right where it went. The rules official came over because we weren’t’ sure if that was a penalty or not. And he told me it was a one-shot penalty. … It’s pretty disappointing.”

Percy drove into the left rough on the par-5 18th and hit a hybrid from 208 yards through the green. After a free drop from a sprinkler head, Percy got up-and-down for the victory.

“It’s amazing what goes through your head,” Percy said. “I got lucky that ball was next to the sprinkler.”

Former Team Canada member Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. was the leading Canadian, finishing tied for 9th, three shots back of Percy.

GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur on Sunday, beating Canada’s Brooke Mackenzie Henderson 2 up in the 36-hole finale at Nassau Country Club.

The 16-year-old Gillman, from Austin, Texas, lost the 25th and 26th to fall 3 down. She won the short, par-4 27th with a birdie, cut it to 1 down with a birdie win on the par-4 30th and pulled even with another birdie win on the par-4 32nd.

Gillman took the lead with a birdie win on the par-5 33rd, matched the 16-year-old Henderson with pars on the 34th and 35th holes and took the par-4 18th with a birdie.

Gillman, coming off an 11-stroke victory last week in the Junior PGA Championship, is set to attend the University of Alabama in 2016.

Henderson failed in her bid to become the third Canadian winner in tournament history. Marlene Stewart accomplished the feat in 1956, and Cathy Sherk did it in 1978.

“I played well today, and I held the lead after the first 18,” said Henderson after her round.  “I just didn’t play quite as well on the back 18 as I would have liked.  Kristen played really well and she made a lot of putts when she needed to.”

The loss was emotional for Henderson, but the Team Canada member has a lot of reasons to smile after the strong finish.

“It’s been a great week,  I really enjoyed it,” added Henderson. “I definitely will learn a lot from this and take away a lot from this week.”

Henderson will likely move to No. 1 in the World Women’s Amateur Rankings next week.

(Copyright USGA)

Kristen Gillman (Copyright USGA)

WINDSOR, ON — The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Juvenile (U17) Boys’ Championship, held in conjunction with the Ontario Summer Games, wrapped up on Aug. 10 with the final round of play. After many lead changes and names atop the leaderboard, it was Scarborough’s Gavin MacIver who took the title in the end with a final round of one-under (69) to bring his tournament total to three-over.

The 16-year-old Cherry Downs Golf & Country Club member entered the final round in a tie for third at four-over. But after round-two leader, Niagara Falls’ Jaret Chipman, faltered during the day, MacIver was able to take advantage.

“The final round started off ok,” said MacIver. “The leader (Chipman) was playing well. Then we got to the back nine and I had the lead. I soon found out that Jake (Bryson), in the second last group, was one up on me. Things really turned around on 11 and 12 when I birdied them and got the outright lead. I just brought it home from there.”

MacIver put a string of three birdies in four holes together on the ninth, 11th and 12th to help galvanize his round. In the process, he was also able to move ahead of Dunrobin’s Jake Bryson who also held the lead during the round.

“I was rolling in a lot of putts. I made a 20 footer on 12, downhill, which really got things going, from there I just tried to par the rest of the holes,” said MacIver.

It was that putting along with his play off the tees that MacIver attributed his success to. “My putting and shots from the tee were the strongest parts of my game this week. I gave myself good birdie chances all week. Today, I made all my short putts and drained a couple long ones that got my game going.”

Bryson, a member of the GAO’s Ottawa Regional Team, finished the day at even par (70) and was four-over for the tournament, earning the silver medal.

Rounding out the podium was Waterloo Regional Team and Greenhills Golf Club member Jackson Bowery. Bowery, the London resident, shot a three-over (73) and ended the tournament three shots back at six-over.

For the final leaderboard see the tournament site here.

The Ontario Juvenile Boys’ Championship is a 54-hole competition that features the province’s best junior golfers under the age of 17 competing for the Mike Weir trophy. This year the event is contested as part of the 2014 Ontario Summer Games.

WINDSOR, ON — The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Juvenile (U17) Girls’ Championship, held in conjunction with the Ontario Summer Games, came to an end on Aug. 10 at the Roseland Golf & Curling Club in Windsor. When the final putt was drained, it was Ridgeway’s Madeline Marck-Sherk who walked away with the Juvenile Girls’ trophy and the Ontario Summer Games’ gold medal.

Marck-Sherk, 16-years-old from the Bridgeway Country Club and the GAO’s Waterloo Regional Team, got out to a great start during the round with birdies on the first and third holes. She would add an eagle on the 14th and finished the day two-under (70) to end the tournament at even par.

“It was a big week for me. I was able to drain some putts today and with a score of 70, I can’t have any complaints. It was such a great tournament and I am just so happy to have won this,” said Marck-Sherk.

After the round, Marck-Sherk credited her performance to her strong putting. “The early putts helped a lot, I was able to keep the momentum going and continue strong throughout the round. Coming into the tournament I knew there was a chance for me to win and making it to the final group, I knew there was a possibility.”

Finishing second was Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain. The Team Ontario and Hylands Golf Club member finished the day one-over (73) to end the tournament at five-over. Marck-Sherk spoke about what playing in the final group with the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls’ and Quebec Women’s Amateur champion was like. “It was tough, I knew she would be tough competition. We are good friends and I was honoured to play with her. She played well today, the nerves were there for me, but I was able to overcome them.”

Picking up the bronze medal was London resident and London Hunt and Country Club member Isabella Portokalis. Portokalis, a Waterloo Regional Team member, finished the day one-over (73) and ended the tournament at eight-over.

For the final leaderboard, visit the tournament site here.

The Ontario Juvenile Girls’ Championship features the province’s best junior golfers under the age of 17 competing for the Sandra Post trophy. Past champions of the event include Post, Jessica Shepley, Alena Sharp, Stephanie Sherlock, and Rebecca Lee-Bentham. This year the event was contested as part of the 2014 Ontario Summer Games.

BELMONT, Mich.  – Inbee Park figures the best defense against the nerves that come with being in the lead is a hot putter.

Using a new blade putter this week, Park made two long birdie putts on the back nine Saturday and finished with a 3-under 68 to remain a stroke ahead after the third round of the Meijer LPGA Classic.

“I feel like I haven’t holed that kind of putt for a long time and it’s all of a sudden happening this week,” Park said. “This putter, it seems like it’s going really on line and I feel like I’m stroking the ball better this week.”

The third-ranked South Korean player holed a 25-footer from the fringe on the par-3 14th, bogeyed the par-4 15th after missing a 3-foot par try and rebounded with a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th.

The 26-year-old Park won six times last season and took the Manulife Financial in June in Canada for her 10th LPGA Tour title. She had a 13-under 200 total at Blythefield Country Club.

“I think it would have been nice if I had probably two- or three-(shot lead),” Park said. “That gives me more breathing room, but one is still better than nothing. I’m in better position than everybody else.”

South Korean rookie Mirim Lee was second after a 67. Norway’s Suzann Pettersen was another stroke back after a 69.

Cristie Kerr matched the low round of the tournament with a 64 to jump 44 spots to a tie for 12th at 5 under. She hit 10 of 13 fairways and had only 26 putts.

Park, using a blade putter instead of a mallet for the first time since 2008, birdied the first hole and stayed in front until Pettersen birdied Nos. 7 and 8 to tie for the lead. The tie lasted one hole before Park rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt at the ninth.

Pettersen birdied the par-4 13th with a 20-footer to tie again, only to have Park roll in the 25-footer from the fringe at 14. Pettersen then matched Park’s bogey at 15, also missing a 3-foot par try.

That’s when Lee slipped in between the two with birdies at Nos. 15 and 16.

Pettersen, who for much of last year was No. 2 in the rankings to Park’s No. 1, said she struggled with her game, gusty wind and greens that are firming up.

“Overall it was one of those days where you just fight to stay in it,” said Pettersen, ranked fourth in the world. “I didn’t have the greatest of feels throughout the round. There were a lot of challenges out there, and there will be as many tomorrow and hopefully I can do just a little better.”

Park, who shot 66 in each of the first two rounds, said it was easily the toughest day of the three.

“The wind was quite tricky to me,” she said. “I played pretty consistent again, but the golf course was tougher, the conditions harder. I have to stay consistent and keep rolling in some putts.”

Park knows very little about Lee.

“I know she’s from Korea and she played on the KLPGA Tour, and I know she’s hitting it quite long from seeing it from behind today,” Park said. “Except for that, I really don’t have much information. Obviously she played quite solid for three days.”

Lori Kane leads the Canadians carding 71 in the third round to sit tied for 43rd. Alena Sharp and and Rebecca Lee-Bentham shot 74 and 75 respectively to share 60th.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.  – As Rory McIlroy watched the ball drop into the cup on his final stroke of the day, he pumped his right fist and managed a slight grin.

He had fended off every challenger Saturday.

He was right where he wanted to be going to Sunday.

Leading the PGA Championship.

McIlroy finished off a 4-under 67 with an 8-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole, getting up-and-down from a bunker to maintain a one-shot advantage after the third round.

“It’s not the biggest lead I’ve ever had, but I’m still in control of this golf tournament,” said McIlroy, who birdied three of the last four holes. “It’s a great position to be in.”

With greens softened by overnight rain, this was a day for going low at Valhalla. Plenty of players did, most notably Bernd Wiesberger. The 28-year-old Austrian provided the biggest surprise of the round, shooting a 65 that put him in the final group of a major for the first time.

Shoot, this is only the second time he’s ever made a cut at a major.

“This is a dream come true,” said Wiesberger, a regular on the European Tour. “I’m very proud of myself, the way I played today. This is a completely new situation for me.”

Beyond Wiesberger, there were plenty of players ready to take aim at McIlroy on what figures to be a wild final day on the rolling hills outside of Louisville.

Rickie Fowler was right in the mix again at another major, shooting a 67 that left him two shots behind McIlroy’s 13-under 200. Fowler has been the runner-up at the last two majors, and finished fifth at the Masters. Maybe this is the week he finally breaks through.

Then there’s Phil Mickelson, who already has five major titles. Lefty hasn’t won since the 2013 British Open – his longest drought since 2003 – but he’s clearly back on his game. He birdied four of the last five holes for a 67 and was three shots off the pace.

“I needed to finish strong to get back in it,” Mickelson said.

Australia’s Jason Day was also three strokes behind, having lost some ground despite a 69 that included a barefooted shot. After hitting his drive left of a creek at No. 2, he had to take off his socks and shoes and roll up his pants to get across the water. He wound up saving par.

Still, that was a rather pedestrian score in this round, with 37 players getting into the 60s. Hunter Mahan joined Weisberger with a 65, matching the best round of the week, and seven guys shot 66.

At one point, there was a five-way tie for the lead. When it was done, McIlroy was still on top but a dozen players were separated by only five shots, meaning the leader will have to work a little harder for this major than he did for the three first three championships.

McIlroy had runaway victories at the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship, and took a six-shot lead to the final round of the British Open last month, hanging on for a two-stroke win that was never really in doubt.

He doesn’t mind a tougher challenge.

“Yeah, it’s stressful at times, but you’ve got to enjoy it,” McIlroy said. “This is the best position to be in at a golf tournament.”

Weyburn, Sask. native Graham DeLaet is tied for 10th after carding 68 in the 3rd round. He’s sitting 8-under, five shots back of McIlroy.