McIlroy surges clear of Westwood

Hong Kong Open:Rory McIlroy found his touch on the greens and is well on course to overtake Lee Westwood as the Race to Dubai enters the closing stages. On 11 under, McIlory is five behind leader Gregory Bourdy but holds a six shot advantage over Westwood.

Last year's runner-up McIlroy posted a hard-fought 65 with Peter Lawrie (66), Miguel Angel Jimenez (63), Francesco Molinari (66) and defending champion Lin Wen-tang (67) a shot behind the world number 17 at 10 under.

With Race to Dubai leader Westwood continuing to struggle after progressing to five under with a 69, McIlroy is set to take over at the top of the Order of Merit heading into the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

And while that is of some comfort to the 20-year-old, he knows he could realistically be leading the tournament after failing to convert in excess of 10 realistic chances over the first three rounds.

"I was in a similar position last year and shot a 65 to get into the play-off," McIlroy said. "I'll have to do something like that or even better tomorrow. My mindset is to get off to a fast start and try and keep it going."

Last year McIlroy missed on a then maiden title after losing to Chinese Taipei's Lin in a thrilling play-off, but 12 months on has February's win in Dubai under his belt and is certainly in-form after blazing a nine-under-par final round in Shanghai last week.

The level of improvement and maturity in his game was highlighted at the start of his third round as McIlroy bounced back from an early double bogey which erased his early gains to pick up six shots in seven holes around the turn before letting slip a late bogey.

"It was great to get those two shots back straight away," he added. "I knew even though I was back to level there was a lot of golf still to be played.

"I knew I was hitting it well and putting well and it was a matter of giving myself chances again.

"Maybe a couple of years ago, after making double, I would have been a bit flustered but that comes with experience.

"When people ask the difference between turning pro and now and the answer is experience. That could have been it for me and I could have shot 73 or 74."

Westwood returned a 69 to end his challenge and leave him tied for 33rd on five under par.

Bourdy was delighted after a superb putting performance saw him move to 16 under.

"It was a fantastic round - one of my best ever rounds," Bourdy said. "I am going to try and keep my putter warm because it was unbelievable today.

"If I play under par (tomorrow) I will have a big chance," added the Frenchman, who won the last of his two European Tour titles in Estoril last year.