McIlroy Moves to -3 at Pga Leaderboard 2026

Rory McIlroy moved to -3 in the third round of pga leaderboard 2026 at Aronimink Golf Club, one of several early movers as the board kept shifting. He did it with a birdie at the 11th hole, and that put him into a cluster that still had several names within range of the lead.

McIlroy at Aronimink Golf Club

McIlroy’s birdie came after he hit a lob wedge to six feet at the 11th and rolled in the putt. Sam Burns joined him and Xander Schauffele at -3, while Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy were listed at -4.

The group around the top kept moving as the round unfolded. Aaron Rai made consecutive birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes and was one off the lead, while Joaquin Niemann added birdies at the 9th, 10th, 13th and 15th holes before an eagle at the 16th pushed him higher on the board.

Scheffler, Rose and the chase

Scottie Scheffler stayed at -2 after opening with par at the 1st. He hit wedge to five feet there, but the birdie putt slid wide right, leaving the defending champion within touch but not moving up.

Justin Rose reached -2 in the clubhouse after a 65, while Kristoffer Reitan and Chris Kirk were also in the clubhouse lead at -2. Xander Schauffele added another piece to the chase by turning in 32 and making his fifth birdie of the day at the 11th.

Leaderboard pressure builds

That spread left multiple contenders bunched around the leaders instead of one player breaking away. Brian Harman’s 66 left him at -1 overall, Taylor Pendrith posted a 67 and stood at +1, and Padraig Harrington shot a 67 after a 69 the previous day to sit level par for the week.

With McIlroy, Scheffler, Schauffele and others clustered near the top at Aronimink, the third round had already turned into a moving target rather than a march to separation. The next shots mattered because the leaders were still packed together and the numbers kept changing hole by hole.