Rory McIlroy is looking to hit the ground running on Sunday as he attempts to reel in Graeme Storm and get his 2017 season off to a winning start at the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni.
McIlroy produced possibly the shot of the season so far as he eagled the par four seventh from 157 yards on his way to a 67 but that was not enough to close the gap on Storm who carded the same score to get to 17 under.
The pair will go out in the final group on Sunday with the World Number Two looking to overturn a three-shot deficit and he believes a fast start will be crucial if he is to beat a man who has not dropped a shot for 41 holes.
"I started well, I felt like I drove the ball well today for the most part and gave myself plenty of chances," he said. "I took quite a few of them, especially in the middle of the round like I did yesterday as well, so it was a decent score.
"I felt like it could have been a couple better. The finish was disappointing, not birdieing the 15th and dropping a shot on the way in but I'm still in with a shout going into tomorrow and that's all I can ask for.
"I'd like to be a few shots better or at least a few shots closer to the lead. Hopefully I can get off to a good start tomorrow and put a bit of pressure on Graeme and it will be interesting."
McIlroy's approach to the seventh was the champagne moment of the day as he saw his shot pitch ten feet behind the hole and roll back into the cup, helping him briefly take a share of the lead.
"That was nice, that was very nice," he said. "It was a perfect yardage, just a little bit of breeze and it was just a nice sort of controlled nine iron in there. It's always nice when good shots like that end up in the hole. It's a bit of a bonus obviously, it's a bit of luck involved."
Hopefully I can get off to a good start tomorrow and put a bit of pressure on Graeme and it will be interesting - Rory McIlroy
The four-time Major Championship winner almost withdrew from the tournament on Friday having strained a muscle in his back, but played through the pain to remain in contention at the Glendower Golf Club.
"It was a bit uncomfortable for the first five or six holes but then I took another couple of anti-inflammatories in the middle of the round and it actually felt pretty good on the back nine so hopefully it will continue to feel that way.
"If it's a muscular thing then it's just fatigue. I have hit a lot of golf balls over the last four or five weeks – testing equipment and I have hit a lot of drivers as well, so I think that's probably just the thing."
