Rory McIlroy one off the lead after great response to double-bogey

Rory McIlroy was delighted with his response to a double-bogey at the eighth as he ended the third day of the BMW Championship just one shot off the lead.

McIlroy shared the first-round lead with Tiger Woods after both matched the course-record of 62, but the Northern Irishman lost ground on day two as he struggled to a 69 blighted by a number of missed opportunities on the greens.

But he raced out of the blocks on a course significantly softened by torrential rain, starting with back-to-back birdies before adding two more at the fifth and seventh, although his charge up the leaderboard was halted at the tough par-three eighth.

His tee shot landed on a downslope and kicked off the back of the green, and a heavy-handed pitch raced past the pin and off the front of the putting surface, from where he needed three more to get down for a double-bogey five.

However, McIlroy responded with a stunning three-wood to eight feet at the long ninth and converted the chance for eagle, and after further birdies at 13 and 16, the 29-year-old rolled in a delightful 40-foot putt for a three at the last to card a 63 and get to 16 under for the tournament.

"I thought I did really well after the double-bogey on the eighth hole out of the blue," said McIlroy, who enters the final day just one stroke adrift of Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose. "I hit a decent tee shot there and bad chip shot.

"But I'm really proud of how I bounced back with the eagle, and then how I played the back nine. The conditions were getting a little difficult out there with the wind and it got a little chilly.

"I just had to grind it out and make some birdies on the way in and obviously it's always a bonus to finish like that with the putt on the last hole. It was a day when you had to shoot 65 or 64 not to go backwards on the leaderboard."

McIlroy was in between clubs for his second to the ninth and opted to hit a high cut with a three-wood, and it proved to be the right decision and the resulting eagle gave him momentum to take into the inward half.

"I cut a three-wood in there and I thought I left it a little too far right, but it landed up on the high part of the hill and stopped pretty quickly," added the 2012 champion. "It was nice to hit that shot and obviously nice to hole the putt after making the five on the eighth.

"So, to go double and then eagle and get those two shots back straight away, it was a nice momentum-builder going into the back. I played the back the back-nine the way I did and obviously that birdie on the last puts me in a great position."

Early start alert: Due to the threat of bad weather, live final-round coverage of the BMW Championship will now begin at 1pm on Sunday. Red button on Sky Sports Golf, and also on Sky Sports Mix.