LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers by doing something they have done throughout the postseason -- rallying from an early deficit before surging to a late lead and winning.

Vegas led 2-1 until Florida's Anthony Duclair tied the score with 10.2 seconds left in the second period. Duclair's goal set up a third period that saw both teams become a bit more aggressive, but the Golden Knights being the ones who exploded for three goals in a 5-2 win Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

"It was an unfortunate bounce there at the end of the second, so I still thought we had played a pretty solid second period there and started to gain some momentum," Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said. "Really liked the way we were playing. I thought the third period, obviously they're a good team and they create stuff, but overall I thought we had a pretty solid period."

Nine. That's the number of times the Golden Knights have fallen behind in a game during these playoffs only to come back and win. Technically, that happened again Saturday, given that they trailed after the first period when Eric Staal scored. The Panthers' lead was short-lived, with Jonathan Marchessault scoring later in the period for a 1-1 tie. The Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead midway through the second when Shea Theodore scored his first goal of the playoffs.

Duclair's goal was the product of a faceoff scrum that was just to the left of Hill. A loose puck was up for grabs when Duclair barely skated a full stride and instantly ripped a wrist shot that was deflected off Zach Whitecloud's stick before it beat Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill to tie the score at 2.

Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said the Panthers deserved to score a goal in the second period. He referenced how the Panthers kept threatening, such as when Aleksander Barkov had a shot that bounced off the post from the point that could have made a difference earlier in the frame.

To Cassidy's point, the Panthers controlled possession in the second with a shot share of 59.46% in 5-on-5 play, according to data from Natural Stat Trick.

"I hate to say that, but they had earned some really good opportunities," Cassidy said. "So, for us, it was a little bit, yeah, we gave up a late goal. But I rather it then than at the start of the third, to be honest with you. So we have time to go in and regroup and sort of say 'settle down' and 'get back to work.' ... They had generated some good looks. It wasn't like we played this perfect period and it was demoralizing."

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he thought both teams traded scoring chances to start the third period. And while true, it's just that the Panthers appeared to be more aggressive.

It started when Hill stopped a wrist shot from Nick Cousins barely 20 seconds into the period and it continued when the Panthers generated four shot attempts within 40 seconds less than four minutes into the third.

"I think both teams traded a little bit," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "We had a good chance right out the gate, and I think they came down and had a chance. The game opened up a little bit. We were all right with that, too. We'll play a tight game, we'll play a loose game -- not that we prefer to, but we don't mind the rush a little bit at times."

Fending off that barrage from the Panthers eventually led to the Golden Knights controlling possession before Whitecloud scored the first of three straight goals with a shot from the point that beat Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3-2 lead with 13:01 left.

Then came the goal from Stone that saw the two-way winger knock down a puck out of midair, corral possession and then launch a wrist shot to beat Bobrovsky for a 4-2 advantage.

Reilly Smith scored an empty-netter with more than two minutes left to push the lead to 5-2.

When asked what went wrong for the Panthers, Maurice offered a little levity to the situation. He referenced how the Panthers had fallen into holes earlier in the playoffs en route to making the Stanley Cup Final.

"Everybody just f---ing breathe," Maurice said. "I feel like you people that have been here, you're tight. Let's loosen you up a bit."

Cassidy spent part of his postgame news conference talking about Hill's 33-save performance, which was highlighted by a paddle save that was reminiscent of former Washington Capital goaltender Braden Holtby.

Cassidy said he would rank Hill's Game 1 performance among the strongest of the postseason.

"The shutout the other night in Dallas I thought was more of a team effort than an individual effort," Cassidy said. "But certainly tonight -- and it's a team effort, don't get me wrong -- I just thought we were rock-solid in front of him [against Dallas] but we had some holes today, including right to the end where we gave up a short-handed breakaway with two defensemen on the ice.

"It was just one of those nights I think the emotion was in the building and everyone was caught up in a little bit, and thank God he was nice and calm."

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia -- Connor Bedard became the first player in Canadian Hockey League history to sweep the Player of the Year, Top Prospect and Top Scorer awards Saturday night at the Memorial Cup.

Expected to be selected first overall in the NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, the 17-year-old Regina Pats star had 71 goals and 72 assists in 57 regular-season games in the Western Hockey League. He added 10 goals and 10 assists in a seven-game first-round playoff loss Saskatoon.

"It's pretty exciting, for sure," Bedard said. "There's been a lot of cool names in the past that have won this award (player of the year). And for me, I think it's a team celebration as well. There's always a lot of people that you're playing with that are helping you and I think that's an exciting part about it."

The draft is June 28-29 in Nashville, Tennessee. Bedard will be 18 on July 17.

On Sunday in Kamloops in the Memorial Cup final, the Seattle Thunderbirds will face the Quebec Remparts, with Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy stepping aside as coach of the Remparts after the game.

Manchester City beat Manchester United 2-1 at Wembley on Saturday to win the FA Cup, but the match didn't pass by without its fair share of VAR drama.

Should Casemiro have been sent off? Why did Jack Grealish concede a penalty? And did Kevin De Bruyne have grounds for a spot kick?

- How VAR decisions affected every Prem club in 2022-23
- VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide

Possible penalty: Handball by Grealish

What happened: Manchester United were on the attack in the 29th minute when Aaron Wan-Bissaka tried to head the ball into the centre of the box. The ball appeared to flick off Jack Grealish before Manchester City were then able to clear their lines. As play continued, there was a review for a possible penalty.

VAR decision: Penalty, scored by Bruno Fernandes.

VAR review: It's a classic example of a modern handball offence, and a situation like this has usually been judged as a penalty for several seasons now.

There are exemptions that could have saved Grealish, such as proximity to the play of the ball and expected body position for his movement. However, the City midfielder's left hand appeared to move up toward the ball before it flicked his fingers. Was that a natural part of his body movement? Or a handball offence? Some referees will disagree this should be punished, but at the top level, with VAR, a penalty is always likely to be given -- especially as the hand has moved above shoulder level.

Even though Grealish had no intent to handle the ball, or to make his body bigger, and clearly wasn't fully aware of the ball's location, it was that instinctive movement of the arm that left the VAR, David Coote, with little place to go in law.

"I don't even think it's a penalty," Grealish told BBC Sport. "I wasn't even looking at it, I turned and it hit my arm but [Ilkay] Gundogan saved me [by scoring the winning goal]."

You have to feel for Grealish, as when the ball drops over his head to Wan-Bissaka, he is turning to follow its path and isn't expecting the United player to immediately play it back at him. No one in the game really wants a situation like this to give the opposition a penalty, but in reality officials are hamstrung by the law.

There are some similarities to the penalty awarded to Crystal Palace against Aston Villa at the start of the season, when the ball hit the arm of defender Lucas Digne from close proximity and a penalty was awarded through a VAR intervention. The Independent Key Incidents Panel judged that to be an incorrect VAR intervention, as Digne had his back to the ball and was hit at point-blank range.

Grealish was facing the ball, and his hand moved up to it, while Digne's arm position didn't change. It does show how these decisions remain subjective and how even small differences can suggest a different outcome should have been reached.

Penalties such as these are certainly less palatable when there is only a flick of the fingers rather than the ball fully hitting the hand. But in a world with VAR, with the current interpretation, a player is going to concede a penalty for this.

UEFA's new Football Board, set up to advise European football's governing body on matters including the laws, says there should be a more relaxed interpretation of handball. But the application of this law in England is far less strict than in other countries, and any amendment is more likely to bring other leagues closer to English football rather than having any huge impact here.

Possible red card: Casemiro challenge on Akanji

What happened: In the 12th minute, Casemiro and Manuel Akanji challenged for the ball. Referee Paul Tierney gave a free kick against the Manchester City defender -- but in fact the VAR initiated a review for a possible red card against Casemiro.

VAR decision: No red card.

VAR review: A quirk of protocol, because even though the VAR has identified there has been a foul by Casemiro -- so the referee has given the free kick to the wrong team -- he cannot change that on-field decision without advising a red card.

So, if the VAR does think there has been a red-card offence, the game restarts with a free kick to City. But if he doesn't think it's a red card, play begins with the incorrect free kick to United.

If a red had been shown by Tierney, it wouldn't have been overturned. But of course he gave the free kick the other way, so surely that's a clear and obvious error? The VAR still have to judge this as a definite red-card offence, rather than just send the referee to the monitor for getting the free-kick decision wrong.

It was definitely worthy of a yellow card -- again, VAR protocol prevents an intervention for a caution -- but doesn't cross the threshold for a VAR intervention.

We have seen many challenges across the season where a player has caught an opponent above ankle level, but if there is no force or intensity, then the VAR doesn't intervene -- that's the case here.

It's why fans get so frustrated with VAR; if it can give the Grealish handball, why not the Casemiro red card? Much of this comes down to the intricate guidelines around handball, which have attempted to cover every specific situation. For serious foul play, there hasn't been such an overhaul, so perhaps referees make decisions more to their own view rather than following strict application of a law.

Possible penalty: Fred challenge on De Bruyne

What happened: In the 39th minute, Kevin De Bruyne went down in the box under a challenge from Fred. The Belgium international was adamant he should be awarded a penalty, but Tierney wasn't interested. The VAR had a lengthy check for a possible penalty.

VAR decision: No penalty.

VAR review: The same can be said of this incident, which if it had the same layers of interpretation as handball would surely be a penalty.

Fred appears to be stepping across the ball to shield it when he brings down De Bruyne. Is it a foul, or two players coming together?

It's a decision where if a penalty had been given, the VAR wouldn't have gotten involved to overturn it. But at the same time, with the high bar for intervention in English football, it again doesn't reach the threshold of a clear and obvious error.

There are similarities to another incident involving De Bruyne in April, when Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was trying to shield the ball in front of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. De Bruyne kicked Partey, and the free kick was given to Arsenal despite the claims for a penalty.

In that case too, the VAR did not intervene to change the on-field decision -- which was supported in the postmatch review by the Independent Key Incidents Panel.

This is a stronger claim, however, as Fred appeared to catch De Bruyne rather than it being the other way around.

LONDON -- Two down, one to go. Manchester City are now 90 minutes from a historic treble.

They needed just 12 seconds of the FA Cup final against Manchester United to take a giant stride toward their place in the record books. Ilkay Gundogan's opening goal on 12 seconds, the fastest in FA Cup final history, was cancelled out by a first-half Bruno Fernandes penalty, but the City's captain's second goal -- a weak effort from outside the 18-yard box that United goalkeeper David de Gea should have saved -- was enough to see off Erik ten Hag's team for a 2-1 victory that leaves Pep Guardiola's side needing to beat Inter Milan in next Saturday's Champions League final to become only the second English team to do the treble.

The first? United, back in 1999. Despite the challenge -- the necessity -- to be a roadblock in City's path to matching their unique achievement, the red side of Manchester failed to secure their predecessors' glorious legacy.

- Stream a replay of the FA Cup final between Man City and Man United on ESPN+

United's tactics boiled down to little more than hit and hope. They gave it a go, with the odd long-range effort, but that kind of approach is never going to work against this City team.

Inter will need to have a better game plan, and better players, to deny City in Istanbul next week. There already appears to be an air of inevitability about the European Cup being dressed in sky blue ribbons, though, just as the Premier League trophy and FA Cup have been this season.

"We can now talk about the treble," Guardiola said after the match. "Of course we still have to win the Champions League, but we performed so well for our city and our fans.

"We are in a position we will probably never be in again."

There are many reasons for that sense of City closing in on part three of their trophy trilogy: Guardiola, striker Erling Haaland (who was unusually quiet at Wembley) and the midfield strength provided by Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri. The simple truth about City, though, is that they know how to win, regardless of the opponent in front of them or the challenge they pose.

Want to take City on? Try it and find yourself ripped apart as Real Madrid were in their 4-0 Champions League semifinal second-leg demolition last month.

Maybe you sit deep and try to frustrate, but that only invites City to mount wave after wave of attacks, passing opponents into submission and to defeat.

United tried another approach. Ten Hag deployed Fred to man-mark De Bruyne and hope to nullify City's driving force, but that just left Gundogan and Rodri to enjoy acres of midfield space, with auxiliary midfielder John Stones also giving United a problem they couldn't fix.

When United managed to get a foothold in the game halfway through the first half and bring a sense of chaos with Fernandes and their forwards attempting to stretch the City defence, it was like a journeyman boxer throwing aimless punches in the hope of landing a big blow.

United just tired themselves out, though, and as soon as City regained the lead, there was never any real sense of them conceding again. United tried the sporadic flurries once more, with substitute Alejandro Garnacho injecting some pace and purpose on the hour mark, but City always had them at arm's length.

City have lost just once in their past 27 games, and that was a 1-0 defeat at Brentford on the final day of the Premier League season, when the title had already been secured and Guardiola rested key players in preparation for the FA Cup and Champions League finals.

They are a team in peerless form and haven't just beaten all their rivals but inflicted some heavy defeats on them, too. Arsenal, Liverpool and Madrid all have conceded four against City in recent weeks, so good luck to Inter.

United didn't end up on the wrong side of a hammering, but they still lost, and that is the reality check they have to heed. Even when City don't perform to their best, they still win, and teams like United should be able to find that something extra to beat them when the opportunity presents itself.

City are now so far ahead of the pack that the challenge is on the chasers to find a way to catch them. The only team finding a way right now are City, and you expect them to find a way against Inter next week.

History beckons. Yes, it has been done before, but the joy of doing the treble at the same time as denying United the opportunity to forever claim it as their own makes it even sweeter for City.

Two down, one to go.

LOS ANGELES -- Aaron Judge delivered with his bat and his glove Saturday to help propel the New York Yankees, hitting his 19th homer and later making a spectacular running catch at the fence in a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Judge, the reigning AL MVP, put a line drive into the short left-field porch in the sixth inning for the Yankees, who rebounded from an 8-4 loss Friday night in the opener of the high-profile interleague series.

The homer, off Dodgers reliever Shelby Miller, traveled only 360 feet, but Judge's 113.7 mph line drive got into the low stands before left fielder David Peralta could attempt to make a play on it.

Then in the eighth, Judge might have saved a run for the Yankees with his sprinting catch on J.D. Martinez's liner into the right field corner with Max Muncy on first base and nobody out. Judge made the catch an instant before running into the bullpen door, which came partly open when he hit it.

Judge hung onto the ball and stayed upright while putting one foot in the bullpen, but Muncy was allowed to advance to second apparently because Judge technically left the field of play. Yankees manager Aaron Boone briefly argued the umpires' decision to send Muncy to second.

The Yankees led 5-3 at the time of Judge's catch, and reliever Michael King retired the Dodgers' next two batters to send this high-profile interleague matchup to the ninth inning.

Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole (7-0) was sharp back in his native Southern California, striking out five with two walks and only allowing a run on David Peralta's bloop RBI single. He was pulled after a season-low 80 pitches, apparently due to cramping.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka will face Sloane Stephens under the lights as women's tennis is showcased in the 2023 French Open's prime night session for the first time on Sunday.

In 2022, only one of the 10 night matches involved female players, with tournament director Amelie Mauresmo saying at the time that men's matches had more "appeal".

When asked earlier in the week about the inequality, American Stephens said: "That's not what we're about."

Seventh seed Ons Jabeur, speaking after her third-round match on Saturday, said it was "high time to put a night session with a female match".

"I hope that the stadium will be full tomorrow, because there are two excellent and incredible players who will be playing." Jabeur said of the Stephens-Sabalenka match.

"It is going to be an extraordinary match."

Unseeded Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, faces a tough fourth-round challenge against Belarusian Sabalenka, who is chasing a second successive Grand Slam title after winning in Australia in January and has yet to drop a set.

In three previous meetings, Sabalenka has never lost to Stephens although she has been pushed to three sets on every occasion.

Sunday's encounter will mark Sabalenka's first foray into the fourth round at Roland Garros but Stephens has more experience on the Paris clay, having reached the final in 2018 and made the quarter-finals twice since.

Elsewhere in the women's draw as the second week of action gets under way, Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina faces Ukraine's Elina Svitolina third on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Former world number three Svitolina, playing in her first Grand Slam since giving birth, has beaten Kasatkina in all six of their previous meetings but they have not played since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

She will not shake hands with Kasatkina at the end of the match but has paid tribute to her opponent for being "really brave" in previously criticising Russia's invasion.

"I'm thankful to Dasha for taking this position," said Svitolina, who is vying to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals for a fourth time.

Varillas 'facing one of the greatest players'

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz headline the day session on Court Philippe Chatrier, with Serbian third seed Djokovic continuing his quest for a record 23rd Grand Slam men's singles title against Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas.

Two-time French Open champion Djokovic, 36, conceded he was playing with "many injuries" after his third-round battle with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, but his opponent, nine years his junior, is under no illusions as to the challenge ahead.

"I'll be facing one of the greatest players in history. I will try to win," said Varillas, the first Peruvian man to make the fourth round in Paris since Jamie Yzaga in 1994.

"When you enter the court the chances are 50-50, it's one against one."

World number one Alcaraz will follow Djokovic on to Roland Garros' showcase court for what, on paper, looks to be a tougher battle against Italian 17th seed Lorenzo Musetti.

Musetti eased past Britain's Cameron Norrie in three sets in the previous round and has the upper hand over his Spanish opponent, winning their only previous meeting which came on the Hamburg clay last year.

US Open champion Alcaraz, 20, said: "It's a big challenge for me. He's playing great. He has beaten really tough players, he's a really talented player."

What else is happening on Sunday?

Confidence will be high for 28th seed Elise Mertens after her two-set upset win over third seed Jessica Pegula on Friday and the Belgian will be hoping it can carry her through to the French Open quarter-finals for the first time when she faces Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova first up on Court Philippe Chatrier.

At the same time another Russian, Karen Khachanov, kickstarts the action on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the 11th seed taking on Italian Lorenzo Sonego - who came from two sets down to defeat seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the previous round - for a place in the last eight.

Later, Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Sebastian Ofner of Austria as the 2021 finalist looks to improve on last year's fourth-round finish.

From a British perspective, Lloyd Glasspool and Jamie Murray are in doubles action, with fifth seeds Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara of Finland taking on Dutch-German 12th seeds Matwe Middelkoop and Andreas Mies for a place in the quarter-finals.

Murray's last hopes of success in Paris lie in the mixed doubles after he was eliminated from the men's doubles on Saturday, with he and American partner Taylor Townsend taking on Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Nathaniel Lammons of the United States.

The 2024 NHL Stadium Series will be held at MetLife Stadium in February as a two-day event featuring four rival teams, the league announced on Saturday.

The New Jersey Devils will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, Feb. 17, in an outdoor night game. The New York Islanders will host the New York Rangers on Sunday, Feb. 18, at a time yet to be determined.

The Rangers had to be designated as the road team against the Islanders because of their Madison Square Garden lease agreement, which forbids them from playing a home game anywhere but MSG.

The event will mark the first time four NHL teams have played outdoor games at the same venue in front of fans. The games will be broadcast on ESPN.

The Stadium Series event joins a 2023-24 season NHL outdoor game schedule that includes the Heritage Classic between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 29 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, and the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2024, between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken at Seattle's T-Mobile Park.

Initially, the NHL's plan for MetLife Stadium was to have the Rangers face the Devils in a single game between the archrivals, who met in the Stanley Cup playoffs this postseason.

"There's been many iterations of what we wanted to do here. But when we started getting into the matchups, the game, the tri-state area and the great hockey that's being played in the New York area, we felt this would be unique and a way to keep our outdoor games fresh," Steve Mayer, NHL chief content officer and senior executive vice president, said.

"Obviously, the goal is to continue our incredible streak of 37 straight sellouts [in outdoor games], and we really feel very confident that these two matchups will fill two buildings, two days in a row, which for us will be unprecedented."

The capacity for the two MetLife games is something the NHL is still determining. The NHL said that MetLife Stadium will be undergoing some renovation next offseason in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Soccer that will impact some of the low-level sideline seating.

"We will be losing a few seats due to that," said Dean Matsuzaki, NHL executive vice president of events.

The NHL anticipates attendance will be over 75,000 for each game. Currently, the third-largest crowd for an outdoor game was 76,126 for the 2019 Winter Classic at the University of Notre Dame.

MetLife Stadium is home to the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets and is located minutes from New York City. But Mayer said the plan is to emphasize that the games are being held in New Jersey, despite the presence of the New York teams.

"We're going to get super creative. We're going to highlight. It's our goal that when somebody tunes in to watch this, they know we're playing in New Jersey. We're going to look at all the things that New Jersey area has to offer," Mayer said, adding that the league plans to "lean into the music scene with some of those typical names" associated with the state.

"When it comes to entertainment, which we always focus on, and I think we're going to go bigger because of the weekend. We'll try to do something in between games, after games and before games that really celebrates not only hockey, but the music of the area as well," Mayer said.

This is the sixth regular-season outdoor game for the Flyers, who are 1-3-1 in those events. Philadelphia last played outdoors in February 2021 against the Boston Bruins in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The Rangers are playing their fifth outdoor game, having gone 4-0-0. Their most recent outdoor game was the 2018 Winter Classic at New York City's Citi Field. The Devils (0-1-0) and Islanders (0-1-0) are both playing their second outdoor game, having both lost to the Rangers at Yankee Stadium in 2014.

The 2023 Stanley Cup Final is finally here as the Vegas Golden Knights host the Florida Panthers in Game 1.

Both teams enter the series with hopes to hoist their franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup. It marks the seventh time in league history that both teams in the championship series are in pursuit of their first championship.

The teams have a limited history with each other, but Vegas holds an all-time record of 6-3-1 against Florida and they split their regular season matchups, 1-1.

Jack Eichel has emerged as a key player for Vegas this postseason, while Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk's clutch playoff performance includes scoring three game-winning goals in the conference final series.

Tickets for Saturday's action at T-Mobile Arena are going for over $700 and the Knights are a narrow favorite among ESPN's experts to win the series.

Here are all the happenings around Game 1 in Vegas:

One way to warm up

You'd think it's just any old game if it wasn't for the shirts ? ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/V6d5xLG0NY

— z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 3, 2023

Pre-game scene

What a crowd for @marshmello ?? #UKnightTheRealm pic.twitter.com/j5cBJjGCmI

— z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 3, 2023

THIS IS HOW WE DO THE #StanleyCup FINAL IN LAS VEGAS ? @marshmello pic.twitter.com/NupJiTHxYB

— z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 3, 2023

Arrivals

Ready for his first #StanleyCup Final ?#VegasBorn | @Hilton pic.twitter.com/Z6KmVI3bsm

— z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 3, 2023

Suited for Game 1 ? pic.twitter.com/j5fGEAgGDc

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 3, 2023

DUBLIN, Ohio – Rory McIlroy will set out Sunday afternoon at Jack’s Place looking to secure the second leg of the “Legends Slam” with a swing that’s well short of perfect and no shortage of would-be spoilers lurking.

He couldn’t be happier.

For the third consecutive day at the Memorial, McIlroy leaned on luck and grit to keep pace with the co-leaders – Si Woo Kim and David Lipsky – at 6 under par with 10 other players within two shots of the lead. Betting lines will undoubtedly favor the world No. 3 against the other contenders, but the truth is he has no idea what to expect when he sets out in the week’s final group.

“I don't think I hit a green from the eighth hole through the 14th hole, and I played those holes in even par,” McIlroy shrugged following his third-round 70. “Chip in on 12 [for birdie] and got it up-and-down from some tricky spots. I was really happy with how I scored out there and how I just sort of hung in there for most of the day.”

If McIlroy’s happy-to-be-here take doesn’t match with his world-beater persona, it’s the honest byproduct of a swing that he’s repeatedly said is a work in progress. Saturday’s round on a hard-and-fast course was the most-recent example of his very real struggle.

There was the chip-in for birdie at No. 12 from 25 feet and scrambling pars at Nos. 8, 11, 13 and 14. The major champion, whose career has been written with an overwhelming driver and sublime iron play, has now fully embraced the scrappy life.

“Embracing it,” he smiled. “There was a couple of shots out there when I missed the greens that I was sort of looking forward to hit. I think it's embracing that challenge and embracing the fact that you're probably not going to hit more than 12 or 13 greens out there. I think with how my short game's been this week it's something I've been able to fall back on, which has been great.”

To be fair, Rory is still Rory off the tee. He’s eighth this week in strokes gained: off the tee and second in driving distance, which at Muirfield Village is an accomplishment considering host Jack Nicklaus’ mission is to take driver out of the hands of the game’s top players.

Where the challenge has come is from the fairway and, despite his lofty status among the leaders, Saturday’s effort was his statistically worst of the week with just 7 of 18 greens in regulation and a loss to the field (1.71 shots) in strokes gained: approach the green.

Still, he’s the easy favorite with 18 holes remaining and for good reason. Other than Kim, who has four PGA Tour victories including the 2017 Players Championship, the next six players on the board have a combined four Tour victories.

“It's a big tournament and I've got quite a bit of experience in that and you would like to think that gives you a little bit of an advantage,” McIlroy said. “Everyone's going to go out there tomorrow and, regardless of where you are in the tournament, this golf course makes you a little uncomfortable anyway. So, everyone's going to be feeling like that. With the way the leaderboard is and how bunched it is, it's just going to come down to who can sort of hold their head the most coming down the stretch.”

Considering his own assessment of his swing, keeping a positive outlook doesn’t seem to be a problem for McIlroy this week. It might have something to do with what has admittedly been a rough couple of weeks, which stretch back to his missed cut at the Masters. Or it might just be the opportunity.

When he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2018, it was two years after that tournament’s host and legend had died. For a player who grew up idolizing The King, it was a bittersweet accomplishment and a part of why Sunday at Muirfield Village is likely to mean more than the sum of its parts.

“To be able to walk up that hill from 18 and get that handshake from Jack would be pretty nice,” he said. “I won Arnold's tournament a few years ago, but he had already passed by that time. So it would be so nice to be able to do it and have Jack be there.”

It's been an interesting year for McIlroy both on and off the course, which at least partially explains a lightness in his step that had been missing. There was also a message from his sports psychologist, Bob Rotella, last week that appeared to resonate with the 23-time Tour winner: “You are going to win your fare share of golf tournaments. You tee it up to see what your fare share is.”

DUBLIN, Ohio — Rory McIlroy felt like he was hanging on for dear life Saturday at the Memorial. He had to scramble for bogey to start the back nine. He went five holes without hitting a green. And all the while, he never really lost ground.

When he had to scramble for par on the fourth-easiest hole at Muirfield Village, the par-5 11th, he said he told caddie Harry Diamond he only wanted to try to break 70.

McIlroy wound up with a 2-under 70. That was enough to take him four shots behind at the start of the day to a share of the lead going into Sunday.

“That’s what happens when conditions are like this,” McIlroy said. “You just have to hang on.”

It helped that Hideki Matsuyama went from leading to dropping off the leaderboard in a span of six holes. And that Patrick Cantlay went into the water and over the green on his way to a triple bogey on the front nine. David Lipsky bogeyed his last two holes.

What remained amid a few rumbles of thunder — but no weather delays — was an opportunity for just about everyone who had a tee time Sunday.

Thirteen players were separated by two shots. Nine more were only three shots out of the lead.

Lipsky’s two closing bogeys gave him a 72, while Si Woo Kim overcome two double bogeys for a 71. They joined McIlroy at 6-under 210.

It’s the highest 54-hole lead since 1990, when the weather was so atrocious that the final round was canceled and Greg Norman won at even-par 216.

McIlroy, doing his best to keep in play on the fast fairways that have been baked all week by a hot sun, picked up three birdies over the last seven holes, just not on the holes he imagined.

He chipped in for birdie on the dangerous par-3 12th. He reached the par-5 15th in two after a 344-yard drive. His approach to a back pin on the 17th rolled past the cup to 7 feet and set up one of only eight birdies on that hole for the day.

Just as sweet was the 18th, where his putt from the back of the green to a front pin ran nearly 10 feet by the cup and he holed that for par. McIlroy had several par putts from between 5 and 8 feet, all of them important on a day like this.

“I was really happy with how I scored out there, and how I just sort of hung in there for most of the day,” McIlroy said.

He will be in the final group with Kim, who one-putted his last seven holes, saving par from a front bunker on the 18th.

All this was made possible largely by Matsuyama, a former Memorial winner, who birdied his first two holes and looked to be on his way. And then it quickly fell apart — a bad chip on the par-3 eighth, a three-putt on the ninth and his big blunder on the par-3 12th — tee shot into the water, then over the green from the drop area and a triple bogey.

Cantlay, a two-time Memorial winner, had only one big mistake. He went for the green from the rough on the par-4 sixth and came up short and into the water, then went long into the rough and didn’t get up-and-down, making a triple bogey.

Otherwise, Cantlay made 14 pars, a pair of birdies and a bogey. He and Matsuyama, despite a big number on each of their cards, were two shots behind going into Sunday.

The big move came from Keegan Bradley, who made the cut on the number. He teed off at 8:15 a.m. and finished as the leaders were just starting to warm up. Bradley made nine birdies in his round of 65, and now he’s only two shots behind.

Viktor Hovland (69) and Mark Hubbard (72) were in the large group one shot behind at 5-under 211. Hubbard bogeyed his last three holes for the second time this week. He didn’t let it bother him on Thursday, and he felt the same way Saturday.

“I’m not happy with my finish again, but at the same time, I made three pretty good bogey putts,” Hubbard said.

His strategy on a day like this: “Just try and make a lot of birdies on the par 5s and not make doubles on the hard holes.”

Justin Suh, the 36-hole leader, didn’t stay there for long. He started bogey-bogey, then found the water on No. 3 for a double bogey. He didn’t make his first birdie — his only one — until the 14th hole. Suh had a 77.

He was still only three shots behind, along with Jordan Spieth (72).

Of the 22 players separated by three shots, nine have never won on the PGA Tour. One of those was Lipsky, who doubts he’ll get too wrapped up in looking at the leaderboard.

“It’s too hard to focus on anything else but your game,” he said.