Furyk leads but McIlroy edges closer

Golf:Jim Furyk managed to hold on to the lead on day three of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but Louis Oosthuizen is just one shot behind. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy is in a tie for fourth place on six under alongside Steve Stricker after a 67.

Compatriot Graeme McDowell is on three under after a 70, while Michael Hoey also signed for the same score but languishes on 13 over par. Furyk was five strokes clear at one stage during his round but it was cut to just one at the finish after only managing to go round the Akron course in level par to remain on 11 under overall.

Oosthuizen moved into second place with three birdies in his last 10 holes after he had bogeyed the par-four eighth, while Keegan Bradley was a further three shots back in third.

American Furyk, who followed up a magnificent opening round of 63 with a four-under 66 at the Firestone CC (South Course) yesterday to open up a two-stroke lead, was rather more subdued yesterday.

He picked up just the one birdie at the par-five second to move to 12 under but fell back after dropping a shot at the par-three 13th. His closest challenger overnight had been Rafael Cabrera Bello but the Spaniard saw his chances of victory evaporate after an horrendous seven-over-par 77 that drops him back to two under.

It was therefore left to 2010 Open champion Oosthuizen, who has dropped just three shots in Ohio this week, to close the gap on Furyk. Bradley has a chance of catching the frontrunners after his three-under-par 67.

McIlroy was a shot further back in a tie for fourth overall alongside Steve Stricker of the United States. Justin Rose’s round of 66 put him on five under alongside Bo Van Pelt and John Senden, while world number one Luke Donald and Jason Dufner were a further shot adrift.

Furyk felt conditions were a little tougher compared to previous days, saying: “We had a little bit more wind going on, the greens firmed up a little bit, and I just felt like it was a lot harder to get iron shots close to the pin.”

McIlroy was also in optimistic mood after his round as he feels his confidence starting to return after a disappointing few months in which he missed the cut at three of his five tournaments before finishing joint 60th at The Open last month. "Yeah, it’s getting there, it definitely is.

"I’ve worked hard to get it back. Obviously my expectations every time I tee it up are pretty high, and not to live up to my own expectations is not nice, but I feel like I’m definitely moving in the right direction,” said the world number three.

Further down the field, Tiger Woods, who was seeking to win the tournament for a record-equalling eighth time, carded a two-under-par 68 — his best round this week — to move to level par for the event.

His fellow American Phil Mickelson was three over after a 73 while Open champion Ernie Els moved to four over after a 68. Lee Westwood was 11 over after a nightmare 81 that included 10 bogies and a double bogey, with just the one birdie. Tee times for the final round today have been moved forward with thunderstorms expected to move into the area. .