Rory McIlroy fired a flawless 68 in the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship to move three shots clear of Adam Scott and defending champion Dustin Johnson with one round to play.
The world number three changed putting grips ahead of the tournament and it has paid dividends, with him making one bogey in the last two days at the notoriously tough TPC Blue Monster layout.
‘To play the last 36 holes on a golf course like this with just one bogey on the card is really what I wanted to achieve this week. I feel really good about my game,’ he said.
The Northern Irishman posed 65 on Friday to declare himself the favourite to win, and then backed it up by another four shots on Saturday with his round of 68.
‘My ball-striking, tee-to-green, my driving, that really hasn’t been an issue this year. That’s been where I wanted it to be. But my scrambling and my putting have needed work,’ he added.
Compleat Golfer’s new Playing Editor Louis Oosthuizen shot 69 on Saturday and moved to 15th place, but the leading South African was Charl Schwartzel in a share of 10th.
Schwartzel carded 67 on Friday, but struggled to maintain that kind of scoring and shot 72 on Saturday for a share of 10th on four-under-par.
McIlroy, Scott and Johnson will battle it out on Sunday, while fourth-placed Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and Dustin Johnson will look to catch up.
