Rory McIlroy shot a pleasing bogey-free round of 66 on the third day of the golf event to leave himself well within the frame for an Olympic medal at La Golf National on Saturday.
After an uneven opening two days which both contained plenty of birdies but several dropped shots, McIlroy went into his round on five-under-par overall but a tidy card with five birdies and no dropped shots sees him start tomorrow's final round on -10, four behind leaders Jon Rahm of Spain and American Xander Schauffele.
"A little better today. Limited the mistakes, which is something I talked about last night not doing over the first two days," McIlroy told RTÉ Sport's Darren Frehill after his round.
"To play a bogey-free round and get myself up there in contention for a medal this morning is very exciting.
"I played the front nine in three-under-par again, that's the third day in a row I’ve done that. I said to myself walking to the tenth tee, 'let’s just play a solid nine holes of golf. Hit fairways, hit greens, give yourself chances'. And I did that.
"I made that big putt for par on 17 which I thought was a huge point in the round and it keeps me one shot closer to the leaders. I don’t know what the lead is going to be at the end of the day, I’ll be three or four behind, depending what the lads do coming in.
The 17th has given the Holywood star trouble this week. But that save on his second-last hole of the day could prove pivotal should McIlroy get off to a fast start tomorrow and find himself right in the mix for gold, silver or bronze.
"That par save on 17 could be significant," the four-time major champion said.
"I made double there on Friday and I didn’t want to make another mistake on there today. That putt was huge. It’s a tee shot that doesn’t really suit my eye. I struggle to see a shot off the tee. I missed the fairway again but I was able to scramble and save par and it might make all the difference tomorrow.
"Probably going to have to go a little bit lower tomorrow. The guys don’t seem to be letting up out there. If I can go out and play the front nine like I’ve played the front nine the first three days and see where that puts me with nine holes to go.
"If I play another solid front nine, I’ll be right there."
Shane Lowry, the other half of Team Ireland's golf challenge in Paris, finally saw a few putts drop after two frustrating days on the greens as he carded a superb 66 of his own to sit on five-under-par overall.
After his round, he shared his relief at finally making a few birdies to go along with his fine ball-striking and vowed to help carry his team-mate home should McIlroy find himself in the medal mix late in the day.
"I gave it my best today. I made a lot of birdies and I kind of thought going down the last, if I could birdie the last, I'd have a real, real outside chance going into tomorrow with a low number," Lowry told RTÉ Sport.
"I’m very happy with the way I played, but ultimately the damage was done in the first couple of days. I needed to shoot better scores. Considering how I played, I hit it the same today as they first two days, I just converted my chances today.
"That’s golf. It’s unfortunate but I’m playing for a lot of pride this weekend. I’m going out, trying to shoot my best, try to finish as high up the leaderboard as I can and when I’m finished, I’ll go out and cheer Rory on and hopefully he can get a medal.
"I just pulled my tee shot [on 18]. The line I hit it on, I thought it was going to be okay, but it just went way further than I thought it would and went in the water. I hit a great second shot and just missed my putt.
Lowry sits nine off the lead of major champions Rahm and Schauffele but, unlikely as it sounds, he's determined to get off to a hot start and give the leading pack something to look at on the leaderboard.
"It’s been a nearly week. But I have still a bit to play for tomorrow," the Offalyman said.
"If I can go mad on the front nine tomorrow, you never know, I might give the leaders something to think about because the closing stretch on this course is by no means easy.
"I chipped in twice today. I was better off the tee and my iron play was as good as it’s been all year – 66 was probably the worst I could have shot today."
