McIlroy shoots superb 63 to surge into contention in Atlanta

McIlroy made nine birdies and sits on 10-under in the clubhouse.

ON THE HUNT: Rory McIlroy waves to the crowd. Pic: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Rory McIlroy shot a seven-under round of 63 to surge into contention at the Tour Championship.

McIlroy - who started the day tied in 20th - made nine birdies and sits on 10-under in the clubhouse, with leader Ryan Gerard (13-under) still out on the course.  

“It’s a unique week because if you look at the scoring, even starting yesterday, there were only like eight or nine shots that spread the field,” said McIlroy.

“Obviously, it’s a short field. There’s only 30 players, but it does feel like if you go out and shoot a good score, the leaders, you know, I thought today if I could get like 10 was sort of my target, which is great that I got there.

“But I thought if the leaders only get to 13-under, for example, they might go lower than that. But I felt like if I could do that, I could give myself a chance.

“I think since this golf course has been changed a couple of years ago, I felt like the field used to get spread out a little bit more on the old track.

“And it seems like the last couple of years, it’s a little bit more bunched, and that’s a great thing because if you make a couple birdies, you can jump up, you know, 10 or 15 spots really easily.”

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