Rory McIlroy remains firmly in contention heading into the final day of the BMW Championship after a superb third-round 65 lifted the Northern Irishman into a share of second place.

McIlroy produced a five-under-par round at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis to move to 12-under overall, five shots behind American leader Wyndham Clark.

The four-time major winner bounced back strongly after surrendering his overnight lead on Friday, finishing in style with four birdies over his final six holes to keep his hopes of victory alive.

Despite battling inconsistency off the tee, McIlroy relied on a sharp short game before finding momentum on the back nine.

“I needed to be patient the last three days because my game has been good in parts, but then it has been a struggle in other ways,” McIlroy said afterwards.

“I didn’t hit my first fairway today until the 10th hole. Playing this golf course from the rough isn’t fun, but I hung in there, my short game saved me a couple of times and I got some momentum coming in.”

McIlroy shares second place with American Patrick Cantlay, who carded a third-round 66, while Chris Gotterup and Gary Woodland are one shot further back on 11-under.

World number four Collin Morikawa sits on 10-under, with South Korea’s Im Sung-jae on nine-under heading into Sunday’s final round.

At the top of the leaderboard, Clark continued his impressive form despite a difficult start. The American opened with a double-bogey but responded brilliantly, recording an eagle at the eighth and six birdies to sign for a six-under 65 and extend his advantage.

McIlroy, however, believes the tournament is far from over.

“I am in a good spot in terms of where I am on the leaderboard, but it’s going to take a heroic effort from one of us to catch Wyndham,” he said.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre remains among the chasing pack on five-under following a third-round 68, while England’s Aaron Rai and Matthew Fitzpatrick are one shot further back.

With a five-shot gap to make up, McIlroy faces a significant challenge on Sunday, but the Northern Irishman has put himself in position for one final charge as the BMW Championship reaches its conclusion.

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