LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s certainly not a case of Rory McIlroy being unable to win his third straight tournament and second major championship in a row on Sunday. The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer owns a one-stroke lead going into the final round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The challenge of closing out another tournament, though, is a bit different this time.

“The leaderboard is the most jam-packed it’s been since the final round of the Masters,’’ said Rickie Fowler, who is two shots behind McIlroy. “It’s there for the taking, for sure.’’

But if it’s not McIlroy taking it, then who?

He’ll play in the final twosome with Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, the surprise of Round 3 with his 6-under-par 65. He’s one shot behind McIlroy’s 14-under 200 total for the first 54 holes.

Wiesberger, though, is playing in the last group of a major for the first time. Prior to this week the only time he made a cut in a major was in 2013, when he tied for 64th in the British Open. Wiesberger will feel the pressure – just like he has in the past.

“I’ve never played well in the majors,’’ he said. “I’ve played well in other bigger events in Europe and won a couple, but that’s not the same. (A major) is on a different level.’’

Fowler’s final round playing partner, Phil Mickelson, is the most experienced of McIlroy’s challengers. He has wins in the Masters, British Open and PGA but has had a sub-par season. Saturday’s 67 followed a 62 in the last round of the Bridgestone Invitational last week. Those two encouraging rounds may have put him Mickelson back on the right track. He’s three behind the leader.

“It’s so fun for me to be back in the thick of it, to have a chance, to be in contention heading into Sunday,’’ said Mickelson. “I don’t have to get up a six o’clock in the morning to tee off. That’s a nice change.’’

Eighteen players are within six shots of the lead. Among the others are Australian Jason Day, who’s tied with Mickelson; Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson, Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan. They’re all established stars, and Mahan’s 65 matched Wiesberger for the low round on Saturday.

The best bet to slow down McIlroy, though, is Fowler. He’s been the best player in the first three majors – though he didn’t win any of them. He tied for fifth in the Masters, which was won by Bubba Watson, and was joint second at both the U.S. Open, which was taken by Martin Kaymer, and the British, which went to McIlroy.

Fowler loves the pairing with Mickelson in the next-to-the-last group.

“I’m in a great position for tomorrow,’’ said Fowler. “ Phil and I are going to have some fun. If we get off to good starts we can feed off each other.’’

The near-misses in the year’s pervious majors also bode well for Fowler’s chances. He feels his time will come – maybe on Sunday.

“I expect to feel more comfortable than I did in the last two majors, ‘’ he said. “The past three majors were building blocks. Now I’ve got to go out and get one.’’

Fowler’s game was solid on Saturday – a bogey-free 67 – but he didn’t get all he could out of it.

“I was swinging very well,’’ he said. “I had a lot of good looks for birdies, especially on the back nine. I made great swings, but nothing went in. I’d just like that the putts that didn’t go in today can go in tomorrow.’’

As for McIlroy, who held one-stroke lead after both 36 and 54 holes, Fowler knows he’ll be tough to beat.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence, and he’s not going to back up,’’ said Fowler. “Being patient is key. I’ve got to go shot for shot.’’

McIlroy stayed patient on Saturday. He one-putted nine of the last 12 greens while Wiesberger, Fowler and Mickelson were making runs at him. At one point five players (including Ryan Palmer) were tied with him for the lead.

“I feel like I’m in the best position I can be going into tomorrow,’’ said McIlroy. “I would rather be the guy that’s being chased and have that shot advantage than not. It’s going to be a shootout. The conditions are soft. Guys are going to make birdies and you know you’re going to have to make birdies as well if you’re going to win.’’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 96th PGA Championship is only at the midway point, but its two weekend rounds will be lacking something. Tiger Woods won’t be around when the pursuit of front-running Rory McElroy resumes on Saturday.

Woods missed the cut after shooting his second straight 74 in Friday’s second round at Valhalla, and that could well mean the end to a dismal, injury-filled season for golf’s long-time No. 1 star. He still has a long way to go to recover from the back problems that bothered him all season and required surgery last spring. His 6-over-par 148 total at Valhalla was five strokes above the cut line to play the final 36 holes of the last major championship of 2014.

In pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major championships, Woods has been stuck at 14 since winning the 2008 U.S. Open. This PGA makes it 20 straight majors for Woods without a victory. Friday marked the third time in that stretch in which Woods missed the cut, and he didn’t play in six others because of injury.

Injury also played a part in his latest failure. Last week he withdrew after nine holes in the Bridgestone Invitational when he developed back spasms. His participation at Valhalla was in doubt until he showed up somewhat unexpectedly on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s amazing Tiger was here,’’ said Pete Bevacqua, in his first year as executive director of the PGA of America. “We just wanted Tiger to do what’s best for his career and his health.’’

The only previous times that Woods missed the cut in a major championship were at the 1996 Masters, 2006 U.S. Open, 2009 British Open and 2011 PGA Championship.

Playing partner Padraig Harrington stated the obvious in saying “The man (Woods) looks like he needs to play some golf. He looked kind of raw.’’

Woods showed up here in an effort to prove to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson that he’s fit enough to play in next month’s matches vs. Europe in Scotland. Watson remained non-committal as Woods struggled through the second round.

“Tiger’s playing performance isn’t good right now,’’ said Watson, “but he is Tiger Woods.’’

Woods played on gamely, even though he was quickly too far behind to make the cut. At least he didn’t withdraw. This PGA has had an unusually high number (seven) after four players, most notably Boo Weekley and Angel Cabrera, dropped out with injuries in the course of play.

Watson is in a tough spot as he prepares a U.S. team that hopes to end the Europeans’ recent domination of the competition, the most recent proof having come in a victory at Medinah in September, 2012. In addition to Woods’ struggles two of the top U.S. players, Matt Kuchar (back spasms) and Jason Dufner (neck), are injured.

“No doubt the injuries concern me, but it’s too early to tell,’’ said Watson. Nine players on his 12-man roster will be finalized off a point race that ends after the last putt drops here on Sunday. Watson will name his three captain’s picks on Sept. 2, after the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Woods, because of his limited season, won’t qualify for the four-tournament postseason competition.

As for the PGA that’s in progress, Friday’s round was delayed 50 minutes by a heavy rain but McIlroy, in search of his fourth straight tournament victory, was ready as soon as it ended. He tacked a 4-under-par 67 to his opening 66 and is at 9-under-par 133 for the 36 holes and owns a one-stroke lead on Jason Day, who carded Friday’s best round – a 65. McIlroy and Day will be paired in the last group in the third round.

McIlroy’s driving carried him on Thursday and his short game was key on Friday.

“The conditions didn’t allow me to play the way I did yesterday,’’ said McIlroy. “I didn’t hit it quite as well, but I was able to get up and down a lot. It’s nice, knowing I can score in different ways if I need to.’’

McIlroy can do no wrong lately. He is 41-under-par in his last 10 competitive rounds, having gone 17-under in winning the British Open and 15-under in taking the Bridgestone Invitational.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – If you were expecting the big-name American golfers to jump into immediate contention at the 96th PGA Championship on Thursday you would have been disappointed big-time.

Tiger Woods, after his dramatic late arrival at Valhalla on Thursday, shot 74. He admitted “that wasn’t very good,’’ but at least he had a better day than Matt Kuchar, who withdrew before the round started because of back spasms, and defending champion Jason Dufner, who quit after 10 holes because the pain in his neck made playing on “pointless.’’

Dufner made a triple bogey eight on the last hole he played, was 8-over-par for the tournament and declared in a parking lot meeting with the media that “I’m just not able to play golf right now.’’

Woods, still on the mend after back surgery, had a rare pairing with Phil Mickelson but neither could excite the huge, roving gallery. Mickelson, who finished at 2-under-par 69, said Woods “played with a lot of heart’’ and thanked the PGA of America for the pairing.

All those aches and pains made for a less-than-exciting leaderboard at the end of the day. On top, all at 6-under-par 65, were former world No. 1 Lee Westwood of England; Kevin Chappell, a 28-year old Californian who has one top-10 in 28 starts on the PGA Tour this season; and Ryan Palmer, the only one of the trio saddled with an afternoon tee time when playing conditions are generally more difficult.

Most interesting of the Round 1 results was the 66 posted by Jim Furyk, who joins current world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Spain’s Edoardo Molinari at one shot off the lead entering Friday’s Round 2. Furyk has the track record to win this last of the year’s major tournaments. Champion of the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields, Furyk was runner-up to Dufner in last year’s PGA at Oak Hill in New York.

A schedule change has seemingly ignited Furyk this season. He took a month off after the U.S. Open, where he tied for 12th. He returned to action with a fourth in the British Open, a second in the Canadian Open and a 15th in the Bridgestone Invitational.

“First time I’ve ever done that in midseason,’’ said Furyk. “Surprisingly I came out pretty mechanically sound. Now I’m fresh mentally.’’

The decision to take a midseason break didn’t come easily. It took sports psychologist Bob Rotella to convince Furyk to take a break.

“My dad’s been trying to get me to play less golf for five years,’’ said Furyk. “My wife would probably love for me to play less but is always supportive no matter what I do.’’

Furyk solicited Rotella’s help to help him better manage his time.

“I had never worked with a sports psychologist for 19 and a half years of my career,’’ said Furyk. “It really wasn’t anything to do with my game. He’s an easy person to talk to, and I have a hard time usually opening up to people and to strangers. Definitely his thoughts have helped me be more patient this year.’’

As for McIlroy, he recovered from a double bogey at the par-5 10th hole and a three-putt bogey at No. 11 thanks to four straight birdies from Nos. 12-15 and another bird at the last. Coming off wins in the British Open and Bridgestone Invitational, McIlroy admitted the bad back nine start was a concern.

“It’s (the tee shot at No. 10) one of the only bad shots I’ve hit in a few weeks,’’ he said. “What I was really angry about was, you don’t compound that error and make a bogey on the next hole. I was hot, and I was trying to use that fire as a fuel to propel myself forward. It just shows where my game is mentally right now, that I was able to do that.’’

Luke Donald, another afternoon starter and former world No. 1, got within a stroke of the lead after 13 holes, then lost four shots to par on the last five holes to post a 70. Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, the other player in the field with Chicago connections, finished birdie-birdie for a 2-under 69.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The suspense is over.

Tiger Woods showed up at Valhalla on Wednesday, just a few hours before Thursday’s start of the 96th PGA Championship. After a brief practice session promised he’d tee off in Thursday’s first round.

Woods left the Bridgestone Invitational after nine holes on Sunday after injuring his back. He returned to Florida while his caddie, Joe LaCava, came here to scout the course that will host the year’s final major championship for the third time.

Though he skipped a scheduled Tuesday press conference Woods did request an extension of his registration time and the PGA of America granted it. On Wednesday, after playing some practice holes, he declared himself ready to go.

Woods underwent back surgery after a slow start to this season and hasn’t played well since his return. He re-injured his back hitting a shot from an awkward lie in a bunker on the second hole in the Bridgestone tourney at Firestone in Akron, Ohio. He played on, but was in obvious pain after hitting his tee shot at the ninth hole and withdrew. He head to his Florida home to undergo treatment.

“Basically, when I landed on the bunker my sacrum went out,’’ Woods said in an impromptu meeting with the media on Wednesday. “So, I pinched the nerve and hence the spasm. My physio put it back in and we’ve just been treating it.’’

Woods downplayed any danger of his playing this week.

“My physio is here. If it does go out, he’s able to fix it,’’ said Woods. “It’s one of those things again. I still need to build strength, still continue to get stronger. It’s just going to take more time.’’

He said the pain is gone.

“The treatments have been fantastic – once the bone was put back in,’’ he said. “It was a different pain than what I had been experiencing, so I knew it wasn’t the site of the surgery.’’

Woods won the PGA the last time it was held at Valhalla in 2000, beating Bob May in an epic four-hole playoff. The course has undergone changes since then, and Woods said his yardage book from that tournament is “useless.’’

“There’s some new things that we have to learn out there,’’ said Woods. “Joey has been here on the ground. He’s got a pretty good handle on it. We’ll run through some more of it as we go. I feel good about the shots I hit. I need to get more feel for how this golf course in playing. I’m not used to seeing the chipping areas like this. We didn’t have that in 2000. It was just deep bluegrass.’’

Though he’s playing, Woods’ play this entire season wouldn’t suggest he’ll contend in the upcoming 72-hole battle. Rory McIlroy, the winner at Bridgestone, comes in as the consensus favorite to claim the title that Jason Dufner won last year at Kiawah in South Carolina.

That doesn’t mean the players are counting Woods out.

“He still has a huge impact, especially on the media side,’’ said Ricky Fowler, who has played the first three majors better than any other player but didn’t win any of them. “You can see all the attention with last week WD-ing and this week not registering on time. I want to see Tiger around, but I want to see him healthy and at his best. Unfortunately he’s not healthy and not at his best right now.’’

Rarely, if ever, have Illinois golfers made as big an impression at the Western Amateur as they did last week in the 112th staging of the prestigious tournament at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club.

Doug Ghim, of Arlington Heights, tied the course record with a 63 in stroke play qualifying and was the tourney’s medalist – the first Chicago player to earn that honor since Roy Biancalana in 1983.

Three University of Illinois golfers survived the 156-player stroke play portion of the tournament to make the Sweet 16 for the match play segment and two were still playing in Saturday’s climax to the event. None of them, however, could get the ultimate prize. The title went to Beau Hossler, a University of Texas sophomore from Mission Viejo, Calif.

Hossler knocked off Ghim, who will be his teammate at Texas when classes begin in the fall, in the Round of 16 on Friday. On Saturday morning he eliminated Northbrook’s Nick Hardy 4 and 3 in the morning semifinals before dispatching another Californian, Xander (CORRECT) Schauffele, 2-up in the afternoon final.

Schauffele, a senior at San Diego State, was also a spoiler for the Illinois contingent. He was a 1-up winner over Brian Campbell, Illinois’ No. 1 player, in the other semifinal. Campbell and Hardy, who graduated from Glenbrook North and will soon be an Illinois freshman, were poised to make it an all-Illini final but both came up short.

“I played 36 holes the last three days, and I certainly never walked 36 for three straight days,’’ said Hossler. “I’ll have to cut off my feet and grow some new ones.’’

Hardy, runner-up in both the Western Junior and Illinois State Amateur this summer, didn’t need to play beyond the 14th hole in his first two matches, but he was no match for Hossler after going 4-down after seven holes. Campbell pushed Schauffele harder, and that may have impacted the title match.

In that one Schauffele went 3-up twice before Hossler mounted a comeback on the back nine.

“Fatigue and exhaustion definitely kicked in,’’ said Schauffele. “I have no excuse, but I fell asleep at some point.’’

The match was all square going to No. 17, a 229-yard par-3 that features a green that slopes steeply back to front. Hossler hit to the front of the green, leaving himself a 30-foot uphill putt. Schauffele took the more aggressive route, hitting a 5-iron that took a big bounce and wound up 15 feet past the hole on the back fringe.

Hossler’s fine lag putt assured par and Schauffele chunked his first chip as a cellular radio nearby sounded, leaving him a third shot from nearly the same spot.

“I didn’t hear the radio, so whoever it was is off the hook,’’ grinned Schauffele. “But I wound up looking silly. I went for it off the tee, which I didn’t have to do.’’

Schauffele’s long par putt rolled well past the hole, giving Hossler the lead going to the 18th. He played the 559-yard par-5 solidly, hitting his third shot to four feet below the cup. Schauffele’s drive went far left, leaving him an awkward stance in the rough that necessitated a second shot down an adjoining fairway. When his fourth dropped into a bunker he conceded the hole and match to Hossler.

“I had to go out there and get it,’’ said Hossler, who lost to Schauffele in the final of the California Amateur in June. “I’m very fortunate. This is one of the best tournaments in the world.’’

The 20th Illinois Women’s Open may have seemed like a ho-hum affair. Emily Collins started the final round with a five-stroke lead and won by nine. It wasn’t quite that easy for the University of Oklahoma graduate, however.

Collins, in her second tournament as a professional, started double bogey-bogey and her playing partner, Michigan State graduate Allyssa Ferrell, went birdie-birdie at Mistwood in Romeoville . Collins’ first swing put her in a bad spot, and she three-putted the first hole. Suddenly that big lead was gone, and Collins seemed vulnerable.

“I was a little bit nervous having such a big lead,’’ she said, “but I tried not to think about it.’’

A solid birdie on the third hole and four more after that steadied her nerves, and she had a seven-shot lead at the turn, an eight-stroke advantage after No. 12 and a whopping 10-shot cushion before her last bogey at No. 17.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,’’ said Collins, “but it was definitely exciting. I played solid all week. I’m happy with the way I played.’’

Other than Ferrell, none of the other 31 finalists put pressure on Collins and her nine-shot edge was an IWO record. Her 54-hole score of 212 was 4-under par and it earned her a $5,000 payday and honorary membership to Mistwood.

Ashley Armstrong, a Notre Dame golfer from Flossmoor, was the top Chicago area player. She finished in a four-way tie for second with Ferrell, who – like Collins — is preparing for LPGA Q-school; and amateurs Lisabeth Brooks, from Waunakee, Wis., and Amber Schuldt, a University of Illinois golfer from Sterling. Brooks matched Collins’ 1-under 71 in the final round. The only score lower than that on Wednesday was a 70 by Naperville high school phenom Bing Singhsumalee.

Collins was runner-up in the Texas Women’s Open, her only other pro start, before winning at Mistwood. She’s in the qualifying round for the LPGA’s new Meijer Classic in Grand Rapids, Mich. When she’s done in that event she’ll focus on net month’s Q-school.

Though she attended college in Oklahoma and lives in the Dallas suburb of Colleyville, Tex., Collins has some Illinois connections. Her mother is from Bloomington and her father from DeKalb. Both attended Illinois State and Collins’ caddie, Tony Costello, is a family friend who lives 20 minutes from Mistwood.

“I looked at other tournaments I could play in, and thought the Illinois Women’s Open would be a good one,’’ said Collins. “It worked out the best. I loved the course and it was cool that my parents were from here.’’

Mistwood’s recently renovated course has proven a tough challenge for the players in the 20th Illinois Women’s Open – with the exception of Emily Collins, that is.

Collins, a recent University of Oklahoma graduate preparing for the LPGA qualifying school, posted a 4-under-par 68 in Tuesday’s second round to open a five-stroke lead entering Wednesday’s final 18 holes. She’s at 3-under-par 141 for the first 36 holes after a seven-birdie performance in the second round.

Alyssia Ferrell, is in the same position career-wise as Collins, is Collins’ closest pursuer. Ferrell, who just finished her collegiate career at Michigan State, is also headed to LPGA Q-school. The IWO is her third pro tournament, and she’s made the cut in all three starts.

Ferrell also has one thing going on Collins. Michigan golfers have won five of the last six IWO titles and two of her former Michigan State teammates, Allison Fouch and Aimee Neff, are past IWO champions. Neff, who won the tournament twice, is now the Spartans’ assistant coach.

Windy conditions hampered the 81 starters on Monday and Tuesday but they didn’t faze Collins, who is from Colleywood, Tex.

“Wind doesn’t bother me a lot,’’ she said. “I think I’ll be OK if I stay in the same mindset.’’

Her college team finished fourth in the NCAA tournament and she finished second in her first pro tournament, the Texas Women’s Open. The IWO is her second as a pro and she’ll try to qualify for next week’s LPGA tournament in Michigan on Monday before focusing on Q-School, which comes at the end of August.

“Emily played wonderful,’’ said Berwyn veteran Nicole Jeray, one of Collins’ playing partners in the first two rounds and the only LPGA player in the field. “She hardly made any mistakes and putted well.’’

Starting her second round at No. 10, Collins took charge of the tournament by making all birdies on Mistwood’s treacherous Kelpie’s Corner – the three-hole stretch from Nos. 14-16.

Best of the Illinois players are Sterling’s Ember Schuldt and Flossmoor’s Ashley Armstrong. They’re tied for fourth. Schuldt is a University of Illinois golfer as is Burr Ridge’s Samantha Postillion, who is tied for ninth. Postillion lost last year’s title to Michigan-based Elise Swartout in a playoff. Armstrong, also an amateur, plays collegiately at Notre Dame.

Jeray, a two-time IWO winner, goes into the final round in a tie for 19th