What Rory McIlroy did on the PGA Tour for the first time since the 2024 Tour Championship on Saturday at East Lake

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Rory McIlroy goes into Sunday at the Tour Championship with an outside chance of victory after an outstanding day on the greens during his third round at East Lake.

As McIlroy reached the halfway stage in Atlanta, it did appear that his PGA Tour season was set to end with something of a whimper.

However, a 63 on Saturday has left the Northern Irishman just five shots off the lead with 18 holes to play as he goes after his fourth FedEx Cup title.

And it was his superb putting performance which allowed the 37-year-old to fly up the leaderboard.

Rory McIlroy led the way in strokes gained putting on Saturday at the Tour Championship

Rory McIlroy was the best putter in the field during the third round of the Tour Championship, as he gained 3.4 shots on the greens.

That helped the six-time major champion make nine birdies during the round.

Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

Remarkably, that saw McIlroy lead the field in strokes gained putting for the first time since the opening round of the Tour Championship back in 2024, as noted by the PGA Tour Communications account on X.

Only Robert MacIntyre also gained more than three shots on the field putting during Saturday’s third round.

Why Rory McIlroy believes he putted so much better during the third round at East Lake

While McIlroy has not had the greatest year of his career by any means, it is a surprise to see that he has ended a run of two years since the last time he led the field in strokes gained putting.

It should also be noted that the last two occasions where McIlroy has been the best performer on the greens have come when there have been no more than 30 players in the field.

Interestingly, it does not appear that McIlroy has found something with his putting. Instead, he suggested after his round that he largely had his approach play to thank for his success.

“Honestly, I feel like I just left myself in better spots on the greens. I gave myself easier putts, putts that didn’t break two ways,” he said.

“I felt like, when I got it rolling there on the back nine, every putt was like a cup right or a cup left and feed it down the hill and led it. So I left myself simpler putts.”

McIlroy has got his work cut out if he hopes to catch Viktor Hovland on Sunday at East Lake, particularly as the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg are also ahead of him on the leaderboard.

But if he can replicate his most recent putting performance during the final round, he will certainly have a chance.