Rory McIlroy carded a five-under 65 to lead alongside American Tony Finau after the third round of the RBC Canadian Open.
The defending champion split six birdies with just one bogey to sit two shots in front on 11-under.
After carding a 71 on Friday, Finau bounced back in style with a stellar round of 62 to join McIlroy at the top of the leaderboard.
The Hollywood man won the tournament by seven shots in 2019, but the pandemic cancelled the last two years of the event, leaving him unable to defend the title until now.
His third round included six birdies over a 12-hole stretch.
He also had a bogey on 8, but a shot out of the rough on 9 set up a birdie to recover the stroke.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his round, McIlroy said: "I played really well. A tinge of frustration that I didn't hole the putt at the last, but overall I played great. I drove the ball well, hit some better wedge shots today and holed a few putts. All aspects of the game were feeling good and I just need to take that into tomorrow."
McIlroy will take home over $1.5million if he wins the tournament, while the runner-up will receive $948,300.
Justin Thomas is among a four-strong chasing pack on nine under, with the reigning PGA Champion surging into contention courtesy of a round of 63.
Meanwhile, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick posted a second-straight score of 70 to fall to five shots back.
Shane Lowry sits on five under par, six strokes off the leading pair, after a second consecutive 69.
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