Eagle on Friday helps McIlroy turn corner, contend Saturday

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Rory McIlroy missed the cut in his last two starts and hasn't finished in the top 15 this season.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Rory McIlroy came within a 7-foot putt of having a third straight weekend off.

A well-timed eagle on his 16th hole Friday, though, coupled with a third-round 66 have now given the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland a chance to win the Quail Hollow Championship.

Granted, the leaders were still hitting practice balls when McIlroy finished and judging from the early results, Quail Hollow was being generous on Saturday. But he's 5 under and in the hunt, which hasn't been the case since McIlroy left the Middle Eastern portion of the European Tour schedule in January with a pair of top-10s.

"I'm happy to be where I'm at because the last couple months has been a bit of a struggle for me," said McIlroy, who trailed overnight leader Billy Mayfair by three when he signed his scorecard. "It's just nice to get going and get myself into some sort of contention going into Sunday."

Golf's newest whiz kid may only be 20 but he's already battling back problems that first surfaced in Abu Dhabi after he mixed eight-hour sessions on the range with tennis and soccer. The result was a bruised bone that has yet to completely heal and severely curtailed his practice time.

"Since then it has been a little bit of a struggle," McIlroy said. "... Ever since the (World Golf Championships-Accenture) Match Play (Championship) this year the whole season has been a bit stop-start, so I'm trying to get a bit of continuity. I've added a couple events to my schedule just to try and play a little bit more and just get a little bit of fluidity back."

There has been some improvement of late and McIlroy feels like he can spend more time on the practice range now to work out the kinks in his swing. He also went back to his "old trusty putter" on Saturday which certainly paid dividends in the third round.

McIlroy, who had made the cut on the number, moved up 41 spots with that round of 6 under that included nine birdies, six pars and three bogeys. He reached three of par 5s in two and birdied all four. McIlroy's other birdie putts came from 11, 4, 8 and 3 feet and 8 inches after he nearly drove No. 8.

"I played really, really well," McIlroy said, his brown curls peaking out from under a navy cap. "I feel as though I've been hitting it well for the last couple weeks, I'm just not really getting much out of my game.

"But today I knocked a few putts in and gave myself plenty of chances. A bit disappointing bogeying the last, but 66 is still a great score out there, and it puts me in a nice position going into tomorrow."

That said, McIlroy noted that his eagle at the seventh hole on Friday could have been the "turning point of the season." He said he felt "relieved" and was able to play with more freedom in the third round at Quail Hollow, where he is making his debut.

"I like this sort of golf course, tree lined, a lot of definition off the tee," McIlroy said. "You can really see your shots, your shot shapes. It's a little bit like Firestone in that way and a bit like Augusta, as well. When I drove in here Monday, I thought it was very Augusta like in places, which I love. You've got to hit all the shots around here."