BMW PGA Championship report: Jon Rahm and Danny Willett share lead

Leaderboard

-15 Willett, Rahm

-12 Sharma, Rose, Bezuidenhout

-10 Ramsay, Cabrera Bello

-9 Reed

Day three report

Jon Rahm gave away his advantage with a sloppy finish to the third round of the BMW PGA Championship, but nevertheless shares the lead with Danny Willett heading into Sunday.

Willett's bogey at the 15th, followed by a Rahm birdie at the 16th, looked set to ensure the Spaniard held the aces as he moved into an ominous two-stroke advantage.

But a three-putt bogey at the par-five 17th, where he was greenside in two, followed by a scrappy par at the last, allowed Willett to move back level.

The 2016 Masters champion birdied the par-five closing hole for the first time this week to shoot 68 and reach 15-under, with Rahm matching that score to ensure the pair remain deadlocked with 18 holes remaining.

"Those last two holes made it feel a lot worse than it really was," said Rahm.

"I might have lost a little bit of focus. It's golf, things like this happen, but it doesn't take from how good of a day I had."

Shubhankar Sharma took his birdie tally to 19 for the week as he moved into a share of third with Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Justin Rose, the latter no doubt frustrated to drop a shot at the last having eagled the 17th to leap into the mix.

Richie Ramsay continued his serene progress with a round of 67 to move to within five of the lead and a tie for sixth with Rafa Cabrera Bello, with Patrick Reed next after a birdie-birdie finish to reach nine-under.

The round of the day belonged to Rory McIlroy who, having made the cut on the number following successive 15-foot putts on Friday, cut through the pack with a seven-under 65 which featured an eagle at the 12th.

McIlroy starts the final round nine shots off the lead and in need of something like the course record 62 which Alex Noren produced to win this title in 2017.

Rahm started Saturday's third round with a birdie and was flawless to the turn, before dropping a shot at the par-three 10th for the second day running.

Birdies at the 12th, 13th and 15th holes saw him move back into the lead, which was briefly two until he missed a 12-foot birdie putt at the 17th and then carelessly missed again to drop a shot.

At the 18th, his decision to hit driver backfired as his ball found the base of a bush but, following a penalty stroke, he salvaged par with a brave 15-foot putt to ensure that he remains tied at the top.

Willett was also out in 32 despite a bogey at the first, though he too was unable to avoid dropping a shot after a pulled drive into the trees at 15, handing Rahm the outright lead.

The Sheffield man could only par the following two holes but a regulation birdie at the last ensures he remains in a share of first place heading into Sunday as he seeks to add to last year's high-profile victory in the DP World Tour Championship.

To do so he'll have to fend off Rahm and perhaps Rose, who was treading water a little until an eagle at the 17th but will feel he ought to have done better than a three-under 69 to lie three off the pace.

Sharma also bogeyed the last in an otherwise excellent 66, but to even be in contention having made an eight on the fourth hole of the event counts as a remarkable effort from the back-to-form Indian.

Bezuidenhout meanwhile has made just two mistakes all tournament, best in the field, despite it being his Wentworth debut. The recent Valderrama winner beat Rahm there and if he can somehow overhaul the world number six on Sunday, it may be good enough.

Rahm, though, looks like he will be hard to beat despite his late mishaps.

"Looking forward to it - it's going to take a good round of golf to get this done," added the Spaniard, who reflected again on Jose Maria Olazabal's exit from the tournament on Friday night.

Forty-eight hours on from that and Rahm may well be a five-time European Tour winner before he even turns 25, in the process deepening the Spanish association with this famous event. Not that it will be easy.