PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy on verge of historical past Steve Stricker can relate to

Rory McIlroy has gained two straight RBC Canadian Opens. He now has his eyes set on a 3rd.

The Northern Irishman shot a 6-under par 66 in Saturday’s third spherical to rocket up the leaderboard.

McIlroy sits at 12-under par for the event, two strokes behind chief C.T. Pan of Taiwan, going into Sunday’s last spherical.

Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Harry Higgs, Andrew Novak and Mark Hubbard additionally sit at 12-under par by way of 54 holes.

If McIlroy goes on to win, he’ll develop into the primary PGA Tour participant to win a event three straight instances since Steve Stricker gained the John Deere Traditional three consecutive years in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

McIlroy would additionally develop into the primary participant to win the RBC Canadian Open three consecutive instances.

Picture by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Photos

Granted, the RBC Canadian Open didn’t happen in 2020 and 2021 as a result of pandemic. However McIlroy, the 2019 and 2022 Champion, has by no means gained at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf & Nation Membership.

St. George’s Golf & Nation Membership hosted final yr’s version in Etobicoke, whereas the 2019 RBC Canadian Open was contested at Hamilton Golf & Nation Membership.

“I really feel like the important thing to [Oakdale] is getting off to a very good begin,” McIlroy instructed CBS Sports activities’ Amanda Renner following his third spherical. “I used to be ready to do this right now, and I stored it going by way of the center of the spherical there.”

McIlroy made birdies on the third, fifth, and eighth holes to exit with a 33.

That features the unhealthy break he suffered on the par-5 seventh gap, the place his third shot rifled off the flag stick and spun all the way in which to the entrance of the inexperienced.

As an alternative of getting a straightforward birdie probability there, he went on to make a 5.

“I really feel like I might have squeezed a pair extra pictures out of this spherical,” McIlroy admitted afterwards.

On the again 9, McIlroy made three straight birdies at 11, 12, and 13.

Picture by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Photos

He rolled in a 15-footer on the 202-yard par-3 eleventh to get the birdie prepare rolling.

However he couldn’t get decrease than 12-under par over his last 5 holes. He three-putted the simple par-5 18th to wrap up his third spherical.

“General, I’m actually happy with how I performed,” McIlroy added. “I felt like I hit my irons higher. I obtained the ball off the tee fairly nicely. When you try this, there are tons of scoring alternatives on the market.”

McIlroy is tied for second in strokes gained general by way of three rounds. He has hit the ball fantastically from tee to inexperienced all week, as he has not made a bogey since his sixteenth gap in Thursday’s opening spherical.

Fairly spectacular stuff from McIlroy, contemplating the bombshell information that dropped earlier this week.

Possibly the “sacrificial lamb” can rally behind the Canadian crowd and silence the naysayers Sunday afternoon in Canada.

A win would additionally set himself up superbly for subsequent week’s U.S. Open.