Justin Thomas is taking the scenic route down the par-five 16th - the second-easiest hole on the course.

He's so far right off the tee he's actually avoided the biggest trouble but then dumps his second shot into a greenside bunker.

Needs a birdie here really.

Must be nice hitting a drive 338 yards into the wind. That's what Rory McIlroy's done at the short par-four second.

Just a flick from 63 yards on to the green - and he knocks it to five feet and makes the putt! A big cheer goes up for the Masters champion's first birdie of the day.

Xander Schauffele found sand off the tee but he picks it cleanly and spins it back down towards the cup. He can't curl the 18-footer home though. Par.

Alex Smalley established a two-shot lead overnight with a group of five players - Matti Schmid, Nick Taylor, Jon Rahm, Aaron Rai and Ludvig Åberg - leading the pursuit of the American.

It marked the first 54-hole lead of Smalley's career in his 141st start on the PGA Tour.

How will the 29-year-old have slept? Will he be able to cope with the pressure?

These are all things we'll soon find out with Smalley admitting he's never really been in this position on this type of stage before.

However, in 2018, he was stuck out as a junior at Duke University to take on a certain Scottie Scheffler, who was the University of Texas' standout senior player and won 5&4 to earn the Blue Devils a spot in the NCAA Championship semi-finals.

First blow, Aaron Rai!

He's plotted that hole superbly with a laser straight drive and a supreme approach to inside five feet.

Slot away the birdie and he's one off the lead.

Partner Ludvig Aberg is in for a par.

How did that not drop?

Justin Rose looks to the heavens as his birdie putt on the fourth lips out. It looked in all the way.

That was perfect tee to green though. More of the same and there'll be plenty more opportunities on the way.

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As ever, the crowds watching Rory McIlroy are vast.

You'll need to have height on your side to have much chance watching the double Masters champion hit shots this afternoon.

Major championship debutant Mikael Lindberg made some start to his final round at Aronimink.

The Swede knocked in two birdie putts from mid-range to move just three shots off the lead in a tie for seventh.

However, since then his round has been derailed, with five consecutive bogeys arriving before he picked up a par on the eighth.

A wild swipe off the tee sends Hideki Matsuyama on a bit of an adventure down the right side of seven.

He does well to leave his second on the fringe but takes three from there and that's a costly bogey.

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Canadian Nick Taylor won his first PGA Tour event back in 2014 but had to wait six years to taste another victory. He's won a tournament the last three years in a row and today will play alongside Jon Rahm at the sharp end of a major Sunday.

Rahm looked in total control of his game for most of yesterday, just the two bogeys souring his round of 67 - and but for a few missed putts that would've been even lower.

The Spaniard has been the best in the field around the greens and second best tee-to-green and if he continues that form plus a few putts drop he'll be the man to beat today.

A Wanamaker Trophy would also give Rahm two thirds of the Grand Slam, needing just the Open Championship to complete the set.

Rory McIlroy blocks his drive down the first and it leaves him in the thick stuff down the right.

He gives it an almighty thump but still can't reach the putting surface and comes up well short with the putter from off the front.

Nine feet for par on the first. This is big...and he drains it! Great save.

Xander Schauffele chases one up the front of the green from the left rough and two putts for a less stressful par.

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It went a bit quiet from Justin Thomas for three holes but he's just forced himself a little bit closer to the top.

A booming birdie from 22 and a half feet at the 15th takes him to -4, just two off the lead.

And a muted fist-pump to boot. JT still believes.

Scottie Scheffler birdied the par-five ninth to turn in one under for his round and two under for the tournament.

He has an eight footer for another birdie on the 10th but he misses that one - as you'd expected for a man ranked 64th in the field in the putting stats.

The defending champion needs to find birdies quickly if he's to lay down any sort of challenge.

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That's been a big talking point this week, Gill.

The big trees on this course were cleared away over different renovations during the 2000s and 2010s, in theory to revert it back to what architect Donald Ross originally intended a hundred years ago.

Some of the players were vocal on it before play started and I take your point.

But I also think it's been a pretty interesting tournament so far!

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Cameron Smith knocks one straight down the banner at the par-three fifth, but he can't hole the nine-footer for birdie.

The Australian remains two adrift.

A look through the stats shows that 11 of the last 14 US PGA Championship winners played in the final group on Sunday.

Alex Smalley and Matti Schmid are not exactly the top names in the field but that trend supports those that think one of the last pairing can bring home the Wanamaker.

A fast start for Maverick McNealy as he makes a birdie on the opening hole to step up to four under par and joins that expanding group of chasers behind Alex Smalley.

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Alongside Aaron Rai, the Swedish phenom Ludvig Aberg has looked a major champion-in-waiting since bursting onto the scene in 2023.

Only, it hasn't quite happened yet.

In contention on the back nine at The Masters in both 2024 and 2025, he made costly mistakes to drop away from contention.

And he's not even finished top 10 anywhere else.

Almost robotically good when he's flowing, he is field leader tee to green so far this week. Get his putter going and he will be really hard to beat.

A bit of a mess from Joaquinn Nieman at the third. A duffed chip leaves him with a 15-footer for a bogey, but he keeps his cool to knock it in.

Momentum killer after that hot start.

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That's pretty close from Justin Rose, whose lengthy birdie putt from over 50 feet just misses the cup on the right.

The Englishman holes out for par but was let down off the tee on the third, with his ball heading into the rough on the left, on a day when finding fairways will be crucial.

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Wolverhampton's Aaron Rai was on a heater yesterday, firing six birdies in a round of 67 to leap up the leaderboard.

His best finish in a major is tied 19th and, weirdly, he's done that at The Open 2021, US Open 2024 and last year's US PGA.

This is uncharted territory for the 31-year-old, who has yet to make a Ryder Cup squad but is a PGA Tour stalwart.

And he wears two gloves - as he's been doing since he was eight years old.

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong.