Europe's Ryder Cup stars being upstaged by vice-captain Noren at BMW PGA Championship

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VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — The European stars in line to compete in the upcoming Ryder Cup are being upstaged at the high-profile BMW PGA Championship by a player who will be one of the team's vice captains.

Alex Noren, a Swede who will be among Luke Donald's five assistants at Bethpage Black, rolled in a 17-foot putt at No. 18 to complete a birdie-birdie-eagle finish and join Adrien Saddier in a tie for the third-round lead at the European tour's flagship event.

Saddier, a Frenchman ranked No. 120, birdied three of his last four holes for a 7-under 65 and Noren, the 2017 champion, shot 66.

At 15-under 201, they were two strokes clear of Tyrrell Hatton, who shot 64 and was the best-placed of the 11 Ryder Cup players taking part at Wentworth this week to begin the buildup to the Sept. 26-28 matches. A stroke further back was another, Viktor Hovland, after his 71 left him in fourth place.

Of the other Ryder Cup players, Ludvig Åberg (73) and Matt Fitzpatrick (69) were tied for sixth on 10 under.

Rory McIlroy was down in a tie for 53rd on 5 under after shooting 70 and has been unable to back up the form he showed in winning the Irish Open last week.

Tommy Fleetwood, the recent FedEx Cup winner, shot 71 and was 3 under for the tournament.

Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Rose, who were first and tied for second, respectively, after 36 holes, dropped out of contention after shooting 76 for the joint-worst rounds of Saturday.

Noren knows how to win at Wentworth, having shot a final-round 62 to take the title eight years ago, and is finishing the season strongly. Two weeks ago, he won the British Masters for his 11th European tour victory — and first in seven years — and he was tied for third at the Wyndham Championship in early August.

His impressive recent form wasn’t enough to earn a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup but he might be about to beat many of the stars with whom he’ll share the European team room at Bethpage.

“It’s going to be so much fun,” Noren said, looking ahead to the final round. “I love this.”

As for Saddier, he led after three rounds of the Irish Open, only to close with a 74 and finish tied for fifth. He is back with a shot at a second title of 2025 — after the Italian Open in June — and the biggest win of his career.

“I think it will be another day at the office,” Saddier said. “Just focus on myself and my game. Try to hit a lot of fairways and greens, and we’ll see if the putts drop tomorrow.”

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