Rory McIlroy leads CJ Cup in SC. Can he hang on and elevate to No. 1 ranking?

“Moving Day,” the third round in PGA Tour tournaments in which players strive to maneuver into position to triumph on the final day, turned out to be more of a “Shuffle Day” on Saturday at the CJ Cup in South Carolina in Jasper County.

The Congaree Golf Club course that had surrendered an abundance of birdies over the first two rounds extracted a bit of revenge Saturday. Players still knocked shots at par, but bogeys came more into the equation.

Case in point: Jon Rahm, who set the course record with a 9-under-par 62 on Friday, discovered tougher sledding Saturday. But just at the moment his chances seemed to disappear — three bogeys in a four-hole stretch — he rebounded with three birdies to right the ship.

By day’s end, Rory McIlroy owned the lead by one shot. But there’s a posse on his heels with eight players within four strokes. The way golfers moved up and down and all around the standings Saturday suggests an eventful final round.

Hang on for a wild ride.

A look at some of the story lines going into Sunday:

Will McIlroy Move to No. 1?

The experts who know how the Official World Golf Rankings work say that Rory McIlroy will become No. 1 if he wins or places second combined with a low finish for current No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler heads into the final round tied for 47th at even-par 210 after a 3-over 74 on Saturday. Meanwhile, a couple of eagles sent McIlroy into the lead.

McIlroy’s round of 4-under-par 67 included three birdies and three bogeys to go with eagles at the fifth and 12th holes. He stands at 13-under-par 200 for the tournament.

“You know, the ranking will take care of itself if I do what I want to do,” said McIlroy, who said the course played more difficult with added length Saturday. “Ultimately, I just want to win the golf tournament.”

Will Kitayama Win No. 1?

Most fans would not expect Kurt Kitayama to be looking at the possibility of his first career win against the high-quality CJ Cup in South Carolina field. But here he is, one shot behind McIlroy with 18 holes to go.

Kitayama is no stranger to success. A California native who played college golf at UNLV, he placed second against a loaded field in the 2022 Scottish Open, tied for second in Mexico and third in the Honda to go with three international wins.

Playing in the final pairing Saturday, he had a share of the lead periodically before a bogey on the 17th dropped him one stroke behind McIlroy and into a tie for second with Rahm and K.H. Lee. He posted a third-round 70 following a 66 and a 65.

“You know, I’m not really thinking about (the final round and what it might mean) right now,” he said. “I feel pretty good. I hit it well, gave myself some good opportunities.”

More Magic for Rahm?

The odds against following a great round with another great round are long, which Jon Rahm, ranked fifth in the world, illustrated Friday and Saturday.

His 9-under 62 gave him a share of the 36-hole lead at 11-under par. After an early birdie, he bogeyed Nos. 8, 10 and 11 to fall four strokes off the pace Saturday. Back he came with three birdies to post a 1-under 70 and begins the final round tied for second, one stroke behind.

“A lot of battle today; I’m proud of it, very proud of it,” Rahm said. “I think I was four back with people looking at par 5s and the tee up on 15 (a drivable par 4). I thought things could get ugly. But I just stayed on my own game and tried to make some birdies coming in and put myself in position for (Sunday).”

Don’t Forget Tom Kim

Two wins since August sent Kim, 20, zooming up the world rankings and into a pairing with McIlroy the first two rounds. He mostly fell out of the championship conversation Saturday with a ho-hum, even-par round through 14 holes.

Then, he went birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie over the final four holes for a 2-under 69 and a three-day total of 204 — four shots off the pace.

And, remember, he knows how to win. He fashioned a final 61 to run away with the Wyndham title and out-dueled Patrick Cantlay down the stretch to win in Las Vegas.

Leaders, purse, final round tee times

Rory McIlroy (-13), K.H. Lee (-12) and Kurt Kitayama (-12) tee off at 12:40 p.m.

They’re preceded at 12:28 p.m. by Jon Rahm (-12), Taylor Moore (-10) and Aaron Wise (-10).

The group ahead of them (12:16 p.m.) includes Tom Kim (-9), Brendon Todd (-9) and Tommy Fleetwood (-8).

The CJ Cup has a $10.5 million purse. The winner earns $1.89 million and $1.134 million goes to second place.

Sunday’s TV coverage

Final-round coverage of the CJ Cup in South Carolina will be televised by the Golf Channel and streamed on the Peacock network from 2:30-5:30 p.m.

Radio coverage is available on SiriusXM channel 62 from 12-5:30 p.m.