Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy remain in the hunt for the PGA Championship

ROCHESTER, NY – Two of golf’s biggest stars are one step away from winning the PGA Championship on Sunday.

Neither Scottie Scheffler, ranked No. 2 in the world, nor Rory McIlroy, ranked No. 3, think they had their best thing in the first three days, but both are spurred on by the fact that they have not not pulled their way out of the tournament either.

“I had a rough start,” Scheffler said. “So I’m pretty proud of the way I fought. I stayed there. I’m only four years away from tomorrow. It could have gone the other way. The first nine were tough. I think I was 4 out of seven, which is definitely not the start I had in mind.

“But the way I played the back nine, I started hitting a lot of fairways and hitting quality shots. I didn’t shoot myself on a day when the conditions were tough and I didn’t have my best gear. I’ve been hanging on pretty well and I’m still only four times tomorrow, and if I go out and have a good round I think I’ll have a decent chance.

Scheffler is 2 under and four behind leader Brooks Koepka, while McIlroy is 1 under and five behind.

McIlroy said he was very pleased with “my ability to stay out there and show a bit of grit and determination and not let the rounds take me away too much.”

“Obviously I would like to be a few shots closer to the head, but with how I’ve felt this week, if you had told me on Thursday night that I would be going into the top five on Sunday and with a realistic chance of winning this golf tournament, I would have grabbed it.”

Jordan Spieth will not complete the Career Grand Slam on Sunday at the PGA Championship.

Spieth, with a Masters, US Open and British Open on his resume, needs only a PGA Championship to become the sixth player to win all four.

But he will enter the final round at 6-over, 12 shots on the lead and with little realistic chance of winning.

This week was Spieth’s sixth attempt to win a Wanamaker Trophy and join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Gary Player in immortality since winning the 2017 British Open.

Lee Hodges, who was paired with Spieth on Saturday, received a one-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 13.3a in the third round.

On the 17th hole, Hodges’ first putt hit the edge of the hole. Spieth suggested he wait before kicking it, as it looked like the ball might eventually drop.

Hodges waited and the ball did indeed fall into the hole. The problem was that it waited more than 10 seconds, which is, as a rule, beyond the time limit. As a result, Hodges received a one-stroke penalty.

Padraig Harrington made an 11-stroke improvement in his third round from the front nine at the back, going out on 43 and heading home on 32. Afterwards, he said he couldn’t remember ever having do that.

“An 11-shot swing is a lot,” Harrington said. “I had eight 5s on the front nine. I created good chances on the back nine. I didn’t play terribly on the front nine by any means, I just scored terrible, and it happens. On a tough day, it happens. It’s golf. If all the breaks went your way all the time, that would be boring. ”

Two Buffalo Bills stars, quarterback Josh Allen and edge rusher Von Miller, were on hand for the third day in a row to watch the golf. Allen, recently added as a member at Oak Hill, said he also plans to attend the US Open next month and the British Open in July before training camp begins. He was at the Masters last month.