Hoey drops to joint 44th place in PGA Championship

RICO HOEY slowed down with a one-over 71 to find himself seven strokes off the pace going to the last 18 holes of the $20.5-million PGA Championship in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

It was a roller-coaster round on moving day for the Fil-Am ace, who after a pair of 70s, mixed four birdies with five bogeys to bring his aggregate to one-over 211.

This dropped the 30-year-old Mr. Hoey 22 spots to joint 44^th, his distance from leader Alex Smalley stretched by three more shots from the previous day.

Mr. Smalley, the co-leader after two rounds, fired a 68 to grab the solo pole position at 204 and hold a two-shot lead against a powerhouse pack of chasers.

Jon Rahm (67), Matti Schmid (65), Nick Taylor (65), Ludvig Åberg (67), and Aaron Rai (68) stood in striking distance at identical 206s while two-time Masters champ Rory McIlroy vaulted into the hunt at 207 after a 66.

Joining Mr. McIlroy at seventh were Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed and Maverick McNealy, who turned in 66, 67 and 71, respectively.

Mr. Hoey carded an even-par 35 at the front nine of Aronimink Golf Club after canceling out bogeys on Nos. 4 and 8 with birdies on the fifth and ninth holes, respectively.

Things got a lot more difficult at the back, where the Philippine pride dropped a shot on the 10^th and 12^th after missing par-saving shots from six and eight feet, respectively. He made three birdies against two bogeys in his last six holes en route to his first over-par round in the prestigious major championship. — Olmin Leyba