Rory McIlroy surges into PGA Championship contention with a 66 at Aronimink

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania: Rory McIlroy wailed his drive on the 397-yard sixth hole and landed a beauty on the green to the delight of a roaring Aronimink crowd.
He made a birdie and kept a second straight major victory firmly in sight on a day in which several players made big moves up the leaderboard in more favorable conditions.
The pin placements, the course, nothing bothered McIlroy at Aronimink as he charged back from 105th at the end of Round 1 of the PGA Championship all the way to a share of the lead until he bogeyed 17, finishing at 3 under on Saturday a day after he complained about the setup at Aronimink Golf Club.
“I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow,” McIlroy said.
Who would count out McIlroy?
He won the Masters and is trying to join Ben Hogan (1953), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015) as the only golfers to win the first two majors of the year in the modern rotation.
The No. 2 player in the world, McIlroy was buried on the leaderboard on Thursday after he shot a 74.

Only four players in history have ever won a major championship after being 50th or worse at the end of the first round.
His Round 3 was a different story. He had six birdies, 10 pars and two bogeys and shot 66.
“I’ve climbed my way out of that hole a little bit, which is, I’m proud of myself for doing that, but there’s one more day left, and I feel like I’m — again, if I can — depending on what the guys do, be close enough to the lead, I feel like I’ve still got a good chance,” McIlroy said.
Two long days at Aronimink produced the highest 36-hole score to par to lead the PGA Championship in 14 years.