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Shane Lowry shares lead as Rory McIlroy makes move at Bay Hill

Shane Lowry in action during the third round on Saturday
Shane Lowry in action during the third round on Saturday

Shane Lowry is tied for the lead heading into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando.

The former Open champion shot two-under for his third round to move to nine-under-par and share the lead with world number one Scottie Scheffler.

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Lowry dropped a shot early in the round, making bogey on the second hole before adding two birdies on the fourth and sixth holes.

Two bogeys would follow on the eighth and ninth as Lowry turned on one-over for his round, but he got things going early on the back nine with back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th.

Another dropped shot would follow on the 14th before a strong finish, which included birdies on 16 and 17, and a solid par on the final hole saw Lowry sign for 70.

Lowry will play the final round alongside the world's top player, however, the duo are just one shot clear of fellow major winner Wyndham Clark, while Will Zalatoris, Russell Henley and Hideki Matsuyama share fourth place on seven-under.

Rory McIlroy will look to put pressure on the leaders during the final round

Rory McIlroy has played his way into contention, moving from 30th to a share of eighth place thanks to a fine 68, and the four-time major winner will begin his final round just four shots off the lead.

Speaking afterwards to the PGA Tour's official website, McIlroy said: "I'm definitely a good few yards longer over the last couple of years than I have been in the past.

"I thought if I got it in one of the two front traps that would be a good leave to hit something up the green, but, yeah, I wasn't trying to hit it on the green, but it was nice to walk up and see it on there."

McIlroy will draw on the experience of his victory at this year's Dubai Desert Classic, where he shot a third-round 63, as he attempts to close the gap on the leaders.

He said: "I won that golf tournament in 27 holes. I shot nine-under on Saturday and three-under on the front nine on Sunday, and sort of cruised, I didn't really do much else.

"When the golf course is playing as tough as this, that's all, you sort of only need like two really good nine-hole stretches, and then you can sort of play conservative and make a lot of pars the rest of the way."

Seamus Power also enjoyed a positive third round, moving up to a share of 25th place thanks to a fine three-under 69.

The Waterford native will begin his final round on one-under-par for the tournament.

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