BMW PGA Championship:Rory McIlroy stormed into contention with the low round of the week 65 on the third day of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth where the one they all have to catch is England's Paul Casey.

McIlroy said trusting his swing was the key to today’s round which contained no less than eight birdies. The 20-year-old reached the turn in two-under 34 with the only dropped shot of the day coming at the third.

It was the back nine where he really kicked into gear as three birdies on the spin from the 11th were followed by two more at the 15th and 17th. The round could have been even better had he not played a somewhat heavy-handed pitch at the 18th and missed the chance of another birdie.

“I played very well today,” said McIlroy after his round. “It was a big difference compared to Thursday’s round when I was struggling. I’ve put a lot of work since then because I wasn’t trusting my swing.

“I’ve been hitting it well on the range but it was just a matter of bringing that to the course and being fully committed.

“I’ve put myself in there, tomorrow I will try and push for a big finish.”

At nine-under McIlroy trails Casey by four shots after the leader carded a second successive 67. He leads by three from Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen, who shot 68 with McIlroy in third.

Casey is on course to become the first golfer in a decade to complete a double in top European tournaments at Wentworth. Not since Colin Montgomerie in 1999 has any player won both the BMW PGA Championship and the World Matchplay title at the Surrey venue.

Casey, who has already won on the European Tour in Abu Dhabi earlier this year and recently recorded his first US PGA Tour victory in the Houston Open, will move to third in the world behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson should he win the €850,000 first prize tomorrow.

“I am hitting the golf ball where I want to,” said Casey, who would have led by five had he not missed two short birdie putts on the last two par fives.

“It’s nice that all the hard work I have put in this year with my coach is starting to pay off.

“And if I could win and move up to third in the world rankings that would be great. It’s one thing I have been focusing on a lot this year - trying to accumulate as many ranking points as possible - and with 64 of them available this week it’s a big prize.”

Kjeldsen is also a man in top form having recently won the Andalusian Open and climbed to 45 in the world rankings.

He completed a third-round 68 with a magnificent birdie at the 18th, playing an awkward bunker shot and then sinking a 25-foot birdie putt.

If McIlroy wins he would become the youngest winner of the European Tour’s flagship event at the age of 20 years and 20 days.

And if he adds to his debut tour victory at the Dubai Desert Classic in January he will move into the world’s top 10 when the latest world rankings are published on Monday.

Graeme McDowell continued his remarkable comeback from injury. On Thursday the 29-year-old went to hospital fearing than a severe attack of shin splints could wreck his summer major plans if a stress fracture was found just above the ankle of his right leg.

The problem forced him to pull out of last week's Irish Open just 24 hours after shooting a record 61 at Baltray, and complete rest for two days at the start of the week failed to produce a cure.

However, having been given the green light by a specialist to continue playing this weekend he bounced back from his first-round 75 to make the cut with a 71 yesterday and today he was back on the birdie trail.

Playing alongside Ernie Els, McDowell picked up three shots in the first five holes and although he ran up bogeys on the eighth and 10th, another birdie at the par-five 12th took him back to level par for the tournament.

He dropped another shot at the 14th but rallied with three birdies over the closing holes to sign for a 68 to be two-under overall.

McDowell has an extra personal incentive to try and achieve a top-20 finish tomorrow night.

Earlier this week, having failed to complete the Irish Open, he dropped out of the world's top 50 for the first time since his Scottish Open victory at Loch Lomond last summer.

Having only just made the cut at two-over par last night, Els, who has a home by Wentworth's 16th green, also made progress. After covering the first nine holes in level par he picked up birdies at the short 10th and 12th. He signed for a 70 to be level par

Darren Clarke’s 74 left the 40-year-old well down the field on three-over.

- Additional reporting PA