Rory McIlroy carded a brilliant third round of 63 at the Tour Championship in Atlanta to reach 10 under par and claim the early clubhouse lead at East Lake, leaving a tightly packed leaderboard behind him heading into the final round.
Rory McIlroy produced a sparkling third round of 63 to surge into contention at the Tour Championship in Atlanta and set an early clubhouse target at East Lake.
The round of seven under par lifted the Northern Irishman to 10 under overall, putting him atop the leaderboard at the PGA Tour season-ending event as the players behind him continued their Saturday rounds. A packed leaderboard saw several major stars still out on the course, including Chris Gotterup, Ryan Gerard and Viktor Hovland, all of whom were temporarily one shot ahead of McIlroy before he had finished his round.
McIlroy's round was built around nine birdies in total, four on the front nine and five on the back nine. He mixed in two bogeys, both coming on par-three holes, the second and the eleventh, but the damage was more than offset by a brilliant closing run that featured consecutive birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes.
The Masters champion had a chance to reach 11 under with a putt on the final hole, but the attempt narrowly rolled past the cup. After opening rounds of 68 and 69, McIlroy's third round of 63 vaulted him into genuine contention heading into the final day of the tournament.
The Tour Championship is the culmination of the PGA Tour season, bringing together the top players in the FedEx Cup standings to compete for both the season-long championship and the substantial prize that accompanies it. With McIlroy now holding the clubhouse lead at 10 under par, attention turned to the players still on the course who had the opportunity to surpass his mark.
The leaderboard remained congested, reflecting the strength of the field at East Lake and setting up a tense final round as the tournament moved toward its conclusion. Further updates were expected as the round concluded and the final day approached
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