Sunday 6 March 2016 17:42, UK
Rory McIlroy says all his hard work off the course is now starting to pay off on the course after he opened up a three-shot lead following the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
The Northern Irishman, using his new "crosshanded" putting method, carded a flawless four-under 68 to move to 12-under 204 ahead of Sunday's final round.
However, he will need to maintain his solid form at Doral as he has some big names on his tail with Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott leading the chasing pack on nine under and Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Danny Willett two shots further back.
"I'm pretty sure that's my first bogey-free round of the year. To do it in a round like this is very pleasing," said McIlroy after signing his card on Saturday.
"I've been saying all week that I've been making the birdies and I've been hitting the good shots. I've just been making too many mistakes. So to play the last 36 holes on a golf course like this with just one bogey on the card is really what I wanted to achieve this week. I feel really good about my game.
"My ball-striking, my driving, that really hasn't been an issue this year. That's been where I wanted it to be. But my scrambling and my putting have needed work.
"I feel like the practice that I've put in over the last few weeks is really starting to pay off. Just look at some of the saves I had out there today and some of the big par putts - those were the things that were missing over the past three or four tournaments.
"And to be able to correct that and go out and play in a final group on a Saturday in a golf tournament like this on a golf course like this, and play bogey-free, it gives me a lot of confidence going forward.
"There's not many positives from a missed cut [at the Honda Classic] but I made nine birdies over the first two days on a tough golf course in tough conditions. I knew the good stuff was in there. It was just about trying to eradicate the bad stuff, the loose shots, the mental errors, the mistakes.
"I didn't feel like there was much of a disappointment after last week. To be honest, to miss a cut and be able to sleep in your own bed, it's not too bad. Gave me a couple extra days to practice, and maybe if I didn't have those couple of extra days, I wouldn't have found something in my game that I really liked to go forward with. There's always a silver lining."
Watch the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Coverage begins on Sunday from 5pm.
