Waching daily May 27 2018

They came in their thousands expecting to witness a Rory McIlroy runaway, but it was far from that

Runaway golf shots, more like, with the outcome being that the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday afternoon will be a true contest rather than a coronation

For two days, the spectators who made up McIlroy's enormous gallery oohed and aahed at the quality of his shots, as he established a three-shot lead

Not so on Saturday's third round, where the frequent cry was 'Ouch!' Wild blows left one woman with a nasty cut to her head and another with a badly bruised hand

Add a marshal who also got struck, and body armour and helmets might well be in order this afternoon

McIlroy battled back manfully from an horrific start thanks to some outrageous luck on the final two holes, where successive birdies allowed him to card a 71

On both, McIlroy hit shots that would have finished out of bounds had spectators not got in the way

He took full advantage on holes which he didn't manage to birdie when playing well on the first two rounds

It brought him level on 13-under with Wentworth specialist Francesco Molinari, who shot a fabulous 66

The 35-year-old Italian, runner-up last year, will hope to go one better today with his tidy game that will provide a lovely contrast to McIlroy's flamboyance

'I just didn't have it today but drawing level with Frankie at the end was big,' said McIlroy

Four shots behind in tied third is 21-year-old Englishman Sam Horsfield, with Ross Fisher, Branden Grace and defending champion, Alex Noren