BMW PGA Championship 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
A disastrous round of 76 saw Masters champion Danny Willett plummet down the pecking order at the 2016 BMW PGA Championship on Saturday, while Scott Hend's late eagle saw him clinch a one-shot lead heading into Sunday's decider.
After leading the tournament at the halfway mark, Willett is now clinging on to a top-10 spot heading into Sunday's final round, while Hend snatched top spot with his eagle on the 18th, despite finishing the day at one-over par.
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Willett wasn't the only failed performer of the day, however, as Yang Yong-eun also shot three-over par, although he remains within reach of the summit, as does Tyrrell Hatton following a sensational round of 66.
Read on for a recap of Saturday's action from the 2016 BMW PGA Championship, complete with a breakdown of the leaderboard's top 10 after three rounds of golf.
| 1 | Scott Hend | -9 | 73 |
| 2 | Tyrrell Hatton | -8 | 66 |
| T3 | Lee Westwood | -7 | 68 |
| T3 | Y.E. Yang | -7 | 75 |
| T5 | Julien Quesne | -6 | 67 |
| T5 | Chris Wood | -6 | 68 |
| T5 | Thomas Aiken | -6 | 70 |
| T5 | Martin Kaymer | -6 | 70 |
| T5 | Jaco Van Zyl | -6 | 75 |
| T5 | Danny Willett | -6 | 76 |
For a look at the full leaderboard, visit the official European Tour website.
Recap
Willett's momentum slipped as Day 3 wore on, but Hatton shifted up in gear as he progressed at Wentworth, ending his round with seven birdies.
The 24-year-old's opening nine were fairly unnoticeable, making it to the halfway mark at one-under par thanks to his two birdies and a bogey on the third-par fourth hole, but the best was yet to come.
Without another blemish to his scorecard, Hatton proceeded to birdie five of his remaining nine holes, including two of the par fives on the back stretch, to rise into title contention.
The European Tour's official Twitter account celebrated the High Wycombe native's 66, which was timed to perfection alongside the fall of his peers:
Leader Hend was slighty less consistent in his Saturday performance, and it was a stroke of fortune on the 18th that saw him eagle the last hole for the second day in succession.
The Australian travelled to the par-five 18th having bogeyed three holes already, but the Press Association's Paul Casey highlighted his swift rise from three-under to just one-under at an opportune moment:
Willett and Hend were in the same party, and it appeared as though their bad fortune rubbed off on one another as they bogeyed seven of the nine holes between the seventh and the 15th between them.
BBC Sport presenter Dan Walker also didn't do Willett any favours by congratulating the Masters champion after a gleaming first eight holes:
It was at the halfway mark Willett's game fell to pieces, dropping shots on the ninth, 10th and 11th before unearthing a string of pars and then bogeying the 16th and 17th, bringing him up to four-over par.
Hend also saw a hat-trick of bogeys between the 13th and the 15th, although it wasn't for a lack of good driving off the tee:
South Korean contender Yang also had a Saturday to forget, and after impressing with sub-70 scores in each of the first two rounds, a score of 75 did nothing to aid his English title bid.
Lee Westwood, on the other hand, was thriving in front of a home audience and shot into second spot after shooting four-under par and ending as the only player still in the top 10 who failed to register a bogey on Saturday.
Frenchman Julien Quesne came close to replicating that feat himself, but his 67 nevertheless put him in good stead for Sunday's showdown, particularly after bouncing back from a bogey on the 15 to birdie each of his last three holes.
Willett's BMW PGA Championship title challenge will require a serious rescue mission on Sunday if he's to somehow climb back up the table in time, while in-form Hatton shoulders a huge weight to see off his rivals.
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