Lee Westwood birdied his last four holes to grab a share of the lead at the PGA Championship on Thursday, with world No. 1 Rory McIlroy one back after his own four-birdie run.
Britain’s Westwood, eight times a top-three major finisher but yet to hoist a trophy, matched his best round in a major with a six-under 65 at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, to finish level with Americans Ryan Palmer and Kevin Chappell at the top of the leaderboard.
Fourteen-time major winner Tiger Woods struggled to find the greens and fairways in shooting a 74, sharing 109th and in jeopardy of missing the cut without any trouble from the back injury that threatened to sideline him this week.
It was 41-year-old Englishman Westwood who stole the show, though, opening with a 20-foot birdie on the 10th and overcoming a double-bogey at the first with birdies on five of his final six holes, closing with a 40-foot birdie putt at the ninth.
“It’s my lowest round in a major,” Westwood said. “I’ve played better rounds of golf, but I was really pleased with today. I played well, hit a lot fairways, putted nicely. I gave myself a lot of chances. All in all there was no real weaknesses out there.”
Westwood’s only other 65 in a major came in the third round of the 2011 US Open at a rain-soaked Congressional Country Club.
After taking two shots to escape the rough for a double-bogey on the first, Westwood responded with a three-foot birdie at the fourth, added a 14-footer at six, then drained birdie putts of six and 16 feet ahead of his epic closer.
His lone triumph this year came at the Malaysian Open a week after finishing seventh at the Masters, but a big key to his successful start this week was his final-round 63 at last week’s World Golf Championship event in Akron, Ohio.
“That gave me some confidence coming into this week,” Westwood said.
McIlroy, who won The Open last month at Royal Liverpool and last week’s World Golf Championship event, lived up to his favorite’s billing by also battling back after a double-bogey disaster.
He made the turn three-under, then began the back nine double-bogey, bogey.
“It sort of knocked me off track,” McIlroy said. “Walking to the 12th tee I was muttering a few things to myself.”
McIlroy responded with birdies at the 12th through 15th holes, three putts from inside five feet plus a 30-footer at 14, and a two-putt birdie from 30 feet at the par-five 18th left him on the leaders’ heels.
“You have to take what you’re feeling inside and turn it into a positive,” McIlroy said. “I was hot. It’s trying to use that fire as fuel to sort of propel yourself forward.”
McIlroy played in a threesome of this year’s major winners, with Masters champion Bubba Watson and US Open champion Martin Kaymer each firing 70s.
Joining McIlroy on 66 were Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari, and Americans Chris Wood and Jim Furyk, who was last year’s PGA Championship runner-up.
Defending champion Jason Dufner, nagged by a neck injury, withdrew after a triple-bogey at the 10th that put him eight-over, while another potential US Ryder Cup player, world No. 6 Matt Kuchar, did not start due to back spasms, the same problem that Woods overcame to play.
Woods, who turns 39 in December, sprayed shots beyond cart paths and into deep rough time and again. He made bogeys at the par-three 11th and 14th after missing the greens, and woeful tee shots led to bogeys at the first and second.
The lone birdie for Woods came when he holed out for birdie on a 34-yard shot at the 16th.
“It wasn’t very good,” Woods said. “A lot of bad shots. I didn’t play as well as I wanted to and I didn’t get a putt to the hole. That’s not a good combo.”
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson opened with a 69 and said playing partner Woods “played with a lot of heart.”
Unheralded co-leader Chappell has yet to crack the top nine in 24 starts this season.
Palmer chipped in for birdie from 35 feet at the fifth and led at seven-under, before a four-foot par miss at the eighth.
Runner-up at the US Open and The Open Rickie Fowler fired a 69, with joint runner-up at The Open Sergio Garcia on 70 and world No. 2 Adam Scott of Australia on 71.
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