Tour Championship shootout awaits after Rory McIlroy’s sizzling Saturday

Rory McIlroy has a history of making remarkable comebacks at East Lake Golf Club. In 2022, he overcame a six-shot deficit in the final round to secure victory over Scottie Scheffler and claim the Tour Championship for the third time, ultimately securing a historic third FedEx Cup. A similar comeback might be unfolding this week.

McIlroy started the week with rounds of 68 and 69, which, while not stellar on a Par 70 course, is far from disheartening when the field comprises the year's top performers. The Grand Slam winner turned things around on Saturday, posting a 7-under 63, finishing tied for 7th and five shots behind leader Viktor Hovland. This marked McIlroy's best round of the playoffs thus far.

He acknowledged, "I still felt like I played okay the last couple days, just wasn't getting as much out of my game as I wanted to." However, he credited his improvement to his putting. McIlroy, who had been near the bottom in putting after 36 holes, rebounded on Saturday. After an initial bogey on the par-3 second, he birdied four of the following five, shooting 3-under on the first nine.

Apart from a bogey on the par-3 11th, McIlroy managed to secure five more birdies on the back nine, finishing at 7-under on the day and 10-under through 54 holes. "I feel like I just left myself in better spots on the greens," McIlroy remarked. "I gave myself easier putts – putts that didn't break two ways." Five shots back may seem like a significant gap, but McIlroy has a clear benchmark to draw inspiration from as he heads into the final round.

Unlike last year, McIlroy won't be in the final pairing this time. He'll be in the fourth-to-last group on Sunday, playing alongside Cameron Young. Momentum is clearly in McIlroy's favor. He finished 66th at the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and was part of the final pairing at the BMW Championship last week, ultimately finishing third.

McIlroy emphasized, "It's the last round of the PGA Tour season. It will be nice to go out and give it a really good run tomorrow to finish this season."