The third round of the 2026 BMW PGA Championship saw some massive swings on the leaderboard. Overnight leader Ryan Gerard had a dreadful day at Wentworth Club while plenty of others went low to charge into contention heading into the final round.
Gerard began the day at 12 under, two shots clear of Adam Scott and four ahead of Rory McIlroy. Gerard couldn’t maintain that pace and steadily fell back over the course of his round, making five bogeys and no birdies in his first 14 holes of the day. He closed with two late birdies to keep his hopes of a win alive at 9 under, but he’s now looking up at 15 players above him.
Scott, meanwhile, didn’t slide backwards but instead spun his tires to a 1-under round to finish at 11 under. McIlroy looked like he might sputter through a frustrating round himself, as he was just 1 under after 17 holes of play, but he closed with a flourish on the 18th, firing a dart from 231 yards on the par 5 directly at the flag to set up a kick-in eagle to shoot 69 and claw to just two back of the lead entering Saturday.
With Gerard and much of the lead pack dragging their feet on Saturday, the door was open for the rest of the field to charge into contention. The same 12 under figure Gerard began the day at ended Saturday as T2, which meant anyone that could take it low on Moving Day gave themselves a fantastic opportunity entering the final round.
Alejandro Del Rey (-12), Johannes Veerman (-12) and Kristoffer Reitan (-11) did that better than anyone else, firing matching 8-under 64s to climb into contention heading into Sunday.
Also making a considerable move up the leaderboard on Saturday were a handful of the biggest names in the field.
Joaquin Niemann is now just two back of the lead at 11 under after a third round 67. The Chilean looks for his biggest win not on LIV Golf to prove his value as a potential free agent amid LIV’s restructuring and bankruptcy. Just behind at 10 under are Robert MacIntyre and Ludvig Åberg, as the European Ryder Cuppers shot a 66 and 67, respectively, to move into the top 10 and present a great opportunity to collect their first win of 2026.
In total, 19 players are within four shots of the lead heading into the final round at Wentworth, where low scores have proven to be in play. That group also includes other names like J.J. Spaun, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ryan Fox, Aaron Rai and Alex Noren, as the stage is set for a thrilling Sunday in England.
They’re all looking up at Filippo Celli at 13 under, who birdied the 18th to separate from the group tied at 12 under and grab the 54-hole lead all to himself. Celli is looking for his first career win on the DP World Tour, and if he’s going to accomplish that feat he’ll have to stare down a number of the best players in the world.