McIlroy closes in on maiden win

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD: GB & Ire unless stated
-13 R McIlroy -9 A Canizares (Spa), J-F Lucquin (Fra), J Abbate (Arg), C Cevaer (Fra), J Clement (Swi), R Dinwiddie -8 E Canonica (Ita), R Echenique (Arg), MA Jimenez (Spa), G Orr, J Zapata (Arg)
Selected other scores: -6 B Rumsford (Aus)

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McIlroy was the leading amateur at the 2007 Open

Rory McIlroy moved a step closer to becoming the third youngest winner of a European Tour event after a solid round at the Omega Masters in Switzerland.

The 19-year-old has a four-stroke lead going into final day courtesy of a five-under third-round score of 66.

Defending champion Brett Rumford, who had been joint overnight leader with Northern Ireland's McIlroy, carded a two-over 73 to trail by seven shots.

England's Robert Dinwiddie is one of six tied for second on nine under.

McIlroy began the day in sensational fashion, hitting his approach shot to within three feet of the pin for an eagle on the 543-yard, par-five first.

The teenager added six birdies, as well as three bogeys, during his round of 66, which he believed was a better performance than his opening eight-under 63 at Crans-sur-Sierre on Thursday.

"This is my first time in this situation and I'm just really looking forward to tomorrow (Sunday)," said McIlroy.

606: DEBATE Will we be seeing a lot more McIlroy victories on the European Tour for years to come? Tano24

"I don't want to take my foot off the pedal - I've a four-shot lead and I'd like a six-shot lead tomorrow.

"Trying to make birdies is the way I play my best. It would be fantastic to win."

Only South Africa's Dale Hayes and Spain's Seve Ballesteros have won European titles at a younger age than McIlroy.

Hayes was only 18 when he won the 1971 Spanish Open, while Ballesteros was five days younger than McIlroy when he lifted the 1976 Dutch Open title.

Dinwiddie joins French pair Christian Cevaer and Jean-Francois Lucquin, Spaniard Alejandro Canizares, Argentina's Juan Abbate and Switzerland's Julien Clement, who does not have a European Tour card and is ranked 779th in the world, in second place on the leaderboard.