NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — The PGA Championship saw exactly one round of 65 and one 66 over the course of the first two rounds at Aronimink Golf Club.

Before 2 p.m. local time Saturday, three players had posted 5-under 65s: Chris Kirk, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan and Englishman Justin Rose.

Another low round was in the works, as Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland had six birdies and one bogey through 15 holes to tie the 36-hole leaders at 4 under par.

After two days of conversation about untenable pin locations and surprisingly challenging conditions, Aronimink Golf Club was open for business on a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Kirk, in fact, was one birdie away from shooting the sixth round of 62 in major championship history. After leaving his approach at No. 18 short of the green, though, he took out his putter and sent his ball 8 1/2 feet past the pin. He failed to save par, then his short comebacker hit the lip and a gasp ran through the crowd as Kirk carded his double-bogey 6.

“When I’m not playing particularly well, I tend to play more conservative. When I’m having a nice day and making putts, I’m going to try to keep the pedal down as long as I can,” Kirk said. “I was trying to make that putt from the front fringe on 18. It just doesn’t always work out that way.”

You’d forgive him for being aggressive. Kirk, Reitan and Rose each started the day 3 over par for the championship, inside the cut line by one stroke. They needed to put the “move” in “moving day.”

“I’m hoping the lead doesn’t stretch more than 6 or 7 (under),” Rose said. “That’s kind of what I’m kind of sitting here hoping. I think, if you don’t get off to a fast start, then you’re going to kind of get to, let’s say, the seventh hole, eighth hole, and you’re going to be like, geez, you know the easy holes are running out.”

To wit, Kirk and Rose did most of their damage on the front nine. Rose went out in 5-under 30 with birdies at Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9. Kirk had five birdies in a six-hole stretch before bogeying the tough par-3 eighth.

Reitan got to 65 another way — he eagled the par-4 13th and par-5 16th holes. The PGA of America moved up the tee at No. 13 Saturday, making it a drivable 292 yards; Reitan’s tee shot hit the pin with some momentum before settling to 6 feet for an easy eagle.

The 28-year-old Norwegian just won last week’s Truist Championship for his first PGA Tour title. He, Rose and Kirk agreed on the two main factors making Aronimink scorable today: pin positions that are less diabolical, and warmer weather with less wind than Thursday and Friday.

“I think they’re probably halfway responsible, both of those two factors,” Reitan said, before warning that the weather may not stay that way all afternoon.

“I don’t know how it’s going to look like this afternoon, but happy to get out early and try to take — or take advantage of the early morning conditions.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler called the PGA of America’s pin locations “absurd” Friday, adding that he felt they are the toughest he’s seen since turning pro. Some were positioned on small shelves within a green or on a tricky slope.

“Pin locations is a big difference, for sure,” Kirk said Saturday. “There’s a handful of really tough ones out there still, but for the most part, they’re much, much more accessible than they have been the last few days.

“It is warming up, and I think that makes a big difference,” Rose added. “Suddenly the ball is going a bit further. I think players feel a little bit better in T-shirts, and the body works a bit better, people start hitting the ball a little bit further.”

Second-round leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley are scheduled to tee off at 2:40 p.m. local time. Others making a move up the leaderboard in the meantime were Xander Schauffele (4 under for his round, 3 under for tournament) and Spaniard Jon Rahm (-3, -2).

–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media

Nashville SC will be out to build on their Eastern Conference lead when they play host to Los Angeles FC on Sunday night.

Nashville SC (8-1-3, 27 points) entered the weekend atop the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Inter Miami. One of the stingiest sides around, the club has conceded only eight goals, tied with Seattle for fewest in MLS at the start of Saturday’s play.

Like elite teams do, Nashville is getting contributions from everywhere. With central midfielders Eddi Tagseth and Patrick Yazbek sidelined due to injury Wednesday at New England, replacement Bryan Acosta stepped in and delivered two goals during a 3-0 victory.

Both goals Acosta were assisted by Cristian Espinoza, whose acquisition from the San Jose Earthquakes in the offseason provided another dangerous player to go along with Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar and Warren Madrigal. The foursome has combined for 20 goals and 15 assists.

Nashville SC coach B.J. Callaghan said Mukhtar, who’s been with the club since its first match in 2020, continues to lead the way.

“He’s just been so selfless in doing a lot of work to open up the opportunities for other guys,” Callaghan said.

LAFC (6-4-3, 21 points) fell 2-1 at St. Louis City SC on Wednesday for their first loss to the four-year old franchise. LAFC owned an 18-7 advantage in shots but got only four toward net and marked poorly in key situations, allowing defenders to log both St. Louis City goals.

First-year LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos said his team is worn down physically from playing twice a week since the season started in late February because of CONCACAF Champions Cup commitments.

“None of our players right now are at 100% and it’s just a reality that we’re facing,” said Dos Santos, whose team is winless over its last four matches across all competitions. “Sometimes, there are moments that are just difficult for a team and don’t go your way. Right now, we’re in a moment like that.”

LAFC forward Hueng-Min Son remains without a goal in 11 league matches (10 starts) this season but does have eight assists.

–Field Level Media

The Seattle Storm are having troubles on the offensive end, with a chance to find the bottom of the net more often when they face the Indiana Fever on Sunday night in Indianapolis.

The Fever continue to be concerned about their defense.

“We’ve got to be able to defend all the time,” Fever guard Caitlin Clark said. “When things aren’t going well, we’ve still got to find a way to defend. There’s an opportunity for us to improve in that area.”

The Storm (1-2) are wrapping up a three-game road stretch that most recently included Wednesday’s 86-73 loss to the expansion Toronto Tempo.

After 19 turnovers, Seattle is addressing ball security.

“Cleaning up some of our spacing,” Storm coach Sonia Raman said. “There’s a lot of work to be done there, but I think this is a group that is ready to tackle that.”

Center Dominique Malonga has led Seattle in scoring in two of its three games. Malonga combined with center Stefanie Dolson for 15 of the team’s 27 made baskets against the Tempo.

“I think Dom and I just found openings where we could,” Dolson said. “We did our best to get (people) open. … We just have to build that chemistry together. It’s a young group. We don’t know how to play with each other completely yet.”

Storm starting forward Jordan Horston did not take a shot in 18 minutes during Wednesday’s game.

“She’s still trying to find her spots and where that offense is going to come from for her,” Raman said.

Indiana coach Stephanie White said there are times the Fever appear to be resting on defense, and that was a concern following Friday’s 104-102 overtime loss at home to the Washington Mystics.

“We put a lot of pressure on our offense to be perfect when we don’t consistently defend,” White said. “The energy has to be dictated at that end of the floor and that’s a mindset.”

The Fever rolled on offense in the fourth quarter by shooting 61.1% from the floor and getting a game-tying 3-pointer from Clark with 3.1 seconds remaining in regulation.

“We showed the ability to make tough shots,” White said. “We just have to have more of it consistently.”

Indiana’s Aliyah Boston had no field goals for the first time in her career on 0-for-3 shooting Wednesday at Los Angeles and then departed from Friday night’s game with a lower leg injury after nine points in 21 minutes.

–Field Level Media