NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — Rory McIlroy had six birdies on his charge toward the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard until he bogeyed 17, finishing at 3 under on Saturday a day after he complained about the setup at Aronimink Golf Club.

McIlroy 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 105th on the leaderboard at the end of Round 1 after he shot a 74 on Thursday. Only four players in history have ever won a major championship after being ranked 50th or worse on the leaderboard at the end of the first round.

He started Round 3 five strokes behind second-round leaders Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy and quickly rallied into a share of the lead. McIlroy, winner of the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships, took advantage of his early start on moving day to propel his chase with a 66 toward the calendar Grand Slam.

Two long days at Aronimink produced the highest 36-hole score to par to lead the PGA Championship in 14 years. The 15 players separated by two shots made it the biggest logjam going into a weekend at a major since 2002.

The difference between first and worst among 82 players who made the cut was only eight shots, unusually tight for any tournament, much less a major.

“I think a bunched leaderboard like this, I think it’s a sign of not a great setup,” McIlroy said on Friday. “I think when it’s as bunched as it is, because it hasn’t really enabled anyone to separate themselves.”

Sure enough, low scores dominated on Saturday.

Justin Rose, Chris Kirk and Michael Kim took off about as fast as the horses scheduled to race later at the Preakness.

Golfers make most favorable conditions

Kim was outside the cutline in Round 2 until he chipped in for eagle on his final shot to extend his weekend. He made more birdies on the front nine Saturday than he did in the first two rounds combined.

Kim's blistering start was an early sign that low scores might allow more golfers to zip into contention in an already crowded leaderboard.

Kirk and Rose both shot a 2-under 65 on Saturday.

Rose noted subtle differences in the course from one day earlier when he shot a 73.

He said the pins were “just a bit more predictable.”

“I’ve heard Scottie say it’s probably the hardest set of pins he’d seen," Rose said. "That didn’t strike me as that being the case, but yeah, when you think about it, they were incredibly challenging.”

There was some serious cash at stake, as well as the prestige of winning a major.

The PGA Championship raised its total prize fund this year to $20.5 million, a $1.5 million increase from last year but still third among the three American majors.

The winner’s share will be $3,690,000.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf