Rory McIlroy looks to be building up a head of steam in his countdown to the Masters after he fired a six-under 66 to move up to tied 10th heading into the final round of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.

The world No 4 was out of sorts in Thursday’s first round, hitting just four fairways and nine greens in a 73.

But after following a 69 with a six-under-par third round to get to within seven shots of Russell Henley, he believes the work he did on his swing with coach Michael Bannon last week is beginning to pay off.

“The last two weeks every swing that I've made, every ball that I've hit has been with at least two or three swing thoughts,” McIlroy said. “So first day was sort of similar, yesterday was a little better and then today again I hit the ball pretty good, especially off the tee again. That was a big plus.

“I've been sort of complaining about my driving and off the tee, but this week's been really good. So if I can just keep continuing to see progress there into tomorrow, you know, it would be great to shoot another low one and get myself right up there. But I feel like I've made some good strides in my game this week.”

He added: “I’ve only seen my coach, Michael Bannon, he was in Florida last week, so that was twice in the last six months I've seen him. So it gets off every now and again. We've played in different conditions, we've played in a little bit of wind, you get into some bad habits and when you don't have a set of eyes there keeping a check on you. 

“I mean, you can send videos and stuff, but it's not the same as someone watching the ball and the flight and everything else. It was good to spend some time with him last week and it's a work in progress, but getting there.”

Technically, it’s been a familiar tale for the Co Down man.

“Yeah, I've been working on quite a bit if you've got time to listen here. Sometimes I take the club away and it gets low and around and behind me. My trail elbow, my right elbow gets sort of behind my rib cage, I get real deep and then I sort of feel like I have to get it back out in front of me. In the downswing, I have to throw it back, my right shoulder really has to throw back out to get -- and then if I don't do that and I drive with my legs, it gets even further behind me and I just get this two-way miss going. Just been trying to get the club a little more in front of me on the way back, try to get my right arm working better so it supports the club at the top and doesn't get behind, and then from there it's easier to make a good move through the ball and the ball to go where you want it to go.”

With just four weeks to go before the Masters, McIlroy insists he’s working hard on his game and drawing energy from that process, even if playing without crowds is still a challenge.

“I think after the three weeks off after the US Open and getting home and recharging, I sort of viewed this like a six-week run-up until August, right.  I'm trying to work hard, I'm trying to do the right things, working hard on my game, working hard on what I need not just for these weeks, but obviously looking ahead to Augusta as well. That's energising, right? Something to build towards and that's sort of what I'm trying to do.”

McIlroy is ranked first for strokes gained off the tee and for driving distance but while he is 69th for strokes gain with his approach play and 72nd for proximity to the hole, he was 12th and ninth in those categories yesterday, suggesting that he is slowly getting back to his best.

Shane Lowry is tied for 45th on level par after a 70 yesterday and while he putted better, he is still 58th for strokes gained putting and 74th inside 10 feet.

At the top of the leaderboard, Henley carded a third-round 67 to lead by three strokes on 15-under par from  Lanto Griffin (66), Talor Gooch (69), Jason Kokrak (68) and overnight leader Xander Schauffele, who followed rounds of 66 and 64 with a two-over 74.

Jason Day, Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Thomas share sixth place on 10-under, five shots off the lead, with Collin Morikawa ninth on nine-under.

2020 THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK 

(6th of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season) 

Las Vegas, Nevada October 15-18, 2020 FedExCup Points: 500 (winner) Shadow Creek Par/Yards: 36-36--72/7,527 

Purse: $9,750,000/$1,755,000 

Third-Round Notes -- Saturday, October 17, 2020 

Weather: Sunny. High of 92. Wind SE 4-8 mph. 

Third-Round Leaderboard 

1 Russell Henley 66-68-67--201 (-15)

T2 Lanto Griffin 70-68-66--204 (-12)

T2 Talor Gooch 70-65-69--204 (-12)

T2 Jason Kokrak 70-66-68--204 (-12)

T2 Xander Schauffele 66-64-74--204 (-12)

---

T10 Rory McIlroy 73-69-66–208 (-8)

T45 Shane Lowry 72-74-70–216 (E)

Things to Know 

• Russell Henley looking for his fourth career PGA TOUR victory and first since the 2017 Houston Open

• Since the inception of THE CJ CUP in 2017, all the winners held at least a share of the 54-hole lead/co-lead

• Henley ties the 54-hole tournament record at 15-under 201

• All four of Xander Schauffele's wins on TOUR have been come-from-behind victories

• Justin Thomas sits five shots back in his attempt at a third THE CJ CUP title in four years

• Jason Day is T6 and in contention to win his 13th PGA TOUR victory and first since 2018 Wells Fargo Championship

• Among the 11 South Koreans in the field, 2017 THE PLAYERS Championship winner Si Woo Kim holds the best position (T28)
  

Third-Round Lead Notes

• 3 54-hole leader/co-leaders to win THE CJ CUP
  (Justin Thomas/2017,2019 and Brooks Koepka/2018) 

• 2 54-hole leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2020-21 (most recent: Martin Laird/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) 

Russell Henley (1st/-15) 

• Age 31 (4/12/1989)

• FedExCup 113

• OWGR 121

• Starts at THE CJ CUP 1 

• Wins at THE CJ CUP 0

• Top-10s at THE CJ CUP 0

• Career PGA TOUR starts 200

• Career PGA TOUR wins 3

• Career PGA TOUR top-10s 27

• PGA TOUR starts in 2020-21 1

• PGA TOUR wins in 2020-21 0

• PGA TOUR top-10s in 2020-21 0 

• Three-time TOUR winner: 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2014 The Honda Classic, 2017 Houston Open
  Holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the third time on TOUR; converted one of those instances into a win (Won/2013 Sony Open in Hawaii, T2/2014 Dell Technologies Championship)

• Tied the 54-hole tournament record at 15-under 201 (previously held by Danny Lee and Justin Thomas in 2019)

• Leads the field in fewest bogeys made (2) through 54 holes

• Leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (7.489)

• Second start in THE CJ CUP (T33/2017)

• Second start of the 2020-21 season (T27/2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open)

• Missed one cut in his last 10 starts on TOUR (MC/2020 3M Open)

• Advanced to the BMW Championship and finished No. 56 in the FedExCup standings in the 2019-20 season

Xander Schauffele (T2/-12)

• After making only one bogey through 36 holes, made four bogeys (Nos. 3, 8, 14, 17) en route to a 2-over 74

• Hit 9/18 greens in regulation, losing 1.836 strokes to the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green in the third round

• With a victory, THE CJ CUP would be won by a top-eight player in the OWGR in each season since the event's inception; Schauffele entered the week No. 8 (2017/Thomas/No. 4, 2018/Koepka/No. 3, 2019/Thomas/No. 5)

• Third start in THE CJ CUP (T72/2017, T48/2018)

• Second start of the 2020-21 season (first: 5th/U.S. Open)
  

Additional Player Notes

• In his tournament debut, Talor Gooch (T2/-12) is in search of his first PGA TOUR victory (career-best finish on
  TOUR: T3/2019 Farmers Insurance Open)

• Lanto Griffin (T2/-12) carded a 66, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole; Only needed 24 putts in the third round, tied with Mackenzie Hughes for fewest in the field

• Justin Thomas (T6/-10) is playing for his third THE CJ CUP title in four years; Leads the TOUR in fall wins (4) since the wraparound schedule started in 2013-14 (no other player has more than two in that span)

• Jason Day (T6/-10) carded a third-round 6-under 66 and is looking to win his 13th PGA TOUR victory and first since 2018 Wells Fargo Championship (most recent top-10 on TOUR: T4/2020 PGA Championship)

• Among the 11 South Korean players in the field, 2017 THE PLAYERS winner Si Woo Kim (T28/-4) holds the best position