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Rory McIlroy is within two shots of the lead heading into the final round of the RBC Canadian Open

Rory McIlroy has set his sights on a historic third consecutive RBC Canadian Open title after moving within two strokes of the lead heading into the final round in Toronto.

The world No 3, who has won the last two editions of the event in 2019 and 2022, fired six birdies in a brilliant bogey-free 66 at Oakdale Golf & Country Club on Saturday to stay in touch with 54-hole leader CT Pan.

McIlroy temporarily jumped into the solo lead when he followed a front-nine 33 by firing three consecutive birdies from the 11th, although a three-putt par at the last leaves him in a six-way tie for second on 12 under.

Rory McIlroy has carded rounds of 71, 67 and 66 over the first three days

“It’s great to put myself in with a shot tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “I never won a tournament three times in a row. I felt like last year the win wasn’t just for me it was for a few other things. But this one, this year, if I were able to get over the line, will be solely for me.”

Pan birdied his final two holes to close a third-round 66 and move top of a congested leaderboard on 14 under, while McIlroy is joined two strokes back by Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Mark Hubbard, Andrew Novak and Harry Higgs.

Justin Rose is chasing a second win of the year, following on from February’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am success

Rose charged into contention by birdieing six of his last seven holes to card a six-under 66, as Fleetwood recovered from a slow start to make a hat-trick of birdies from the seventh and add five more on his back nine to register a third round 64

“I felt like the leaderboard’s been very, very bunched up, so just staying hanging around sort of over those first two days was important,” Fleetwood said. “A great round going today and you just have to go out and enjoy those days when they come.”

England’s Aaron Rai birdied the par-five last to move to 11 under and into tied-eighth alongside Canada’s Nick Taylor, who charged into contention earlier in the day with a round-of-the-day 62, while Corey Conners completes the top- 10 and is four back on ten under.

Tyrrell Hatton fell six off the pace after only making a level-par 72 on a low-scoring day, while US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is inside the top-20 and eight behind after a three-under 69.

Who will win the RBC Canadian Open? Watch early coverage of the final round on Sunday from 5pm on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 6pm.