Rory McIlroy, 21, threw down birdies on three of his final six holes, sending a charge through an otherwise dreary afternoon to grab a four-shot lead that might just be worth a new green jacket.

"I know I'll have to play some very good golf to try to finish it off," McIlroy said after completing a two-under-par 70 against a testy course setup. "But if I keep doing what I'm doing, I feel good about my chances."

The Northern Ireland lad briefly lost the lead to Jason Day midway through Saturday's front nine, but battled back to become one of only two players to break par from the final five groups. K.J. Choi scraped around a 71 to join a four-way tie for second.

The day ended with McIlroy at 12-under 204, matching Lee Westwood's performance last year for the lowest three-round score since Woods cruised to his mind-blowing 1997 triumph. Choi was joined at eight under by Day (72), South Africa's Charl Schwartzel (68) and 2009 champion Angel Cabrera (67).

Cabrera drew the final Sunday pairing with McIlroy - a not-so-trivial position when 19 of the last 20 winners have come from the final pairing. The lone exception in that stretch was Zach Johnson's 2007 triumph.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times ....