Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry roared back into contention at the Zurich Classic as they finished the day at -22 to sit just three back of the leaders heading into the final round.
McIlroy and Lowry are looking to become the first pairing to retain their title and after being six back overnight from round two, will be delighted to be in the mix.
McIlroy had spoken of the difficulties ahead for them in round three but ultimately, the new Masters champion delivered as he produced the goods on a number of holes.
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The key and outstanding moment from McIlroy was his putt on 18 to make eagle.
McIlroy was forced to wait 90 minutes due to inclement weather before heading back out and rolling in a 20-footer to make a three.
And speaking about that wait, McIlroy has revealed the slightly unusual route he took during the break to get him in the zone.
Rory McIlroy shares what he did in the weather break at the Zurich Classic
Having to wait an hour and a half to come back out and hit a putt is the ultimate test of nerves and professionalism but Rory McIlroy showed his class in doing the business here.
However, McIlroy revealed in an interview afterwards that he actually completely forgot about the putt while in the break, and instead opted to watch some old highlights.
“What did I do? I had a little bit of lunch…and watched some of our highlights from last year. So yeah, I was inspired,” McIlroy admitted.
“I think the secret is not thinking about it in those 90 minutes. We had a bit of lunch and we were watching some highlights from last year and talking about where we’re going to go for dinner tonight.
“The last thing on my mind during the delay was the putt, and then once I got back out there, I sort of concentrated on it and made sure I did what I needed to do and just a bonus for it to go in.”
Why Rory McIlroy seemed destined to perform on day three in New Orleans
Rory McIlroy is used to dealing with expectation and it was little surprise to see him go out and shoot such a low score and get he and Lowry back in the mix.
McIlroy has handled high pressure situations his whole career so when he strode back out and made eagle, it wasn’t surprising.
Indeed, even his fellow players noticed his determination, as Cam Davis referenced McIlroy’s confidence prior to the round.
“I felt like Rory was going to give them exactly what they wanted to see. I’m pretty sure most of them were out there to watch Rory and Shane, and they played amazing golf, so they absolutely brought exactly what they were expecting,” Davis admitted.
With McIlroy and Lowry now firmly in contention to win, the pressure is on the teams above them to maintain their level or risk seeing the champions overhaul them and retain their title.
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