McIlroy in command in third round at US Open

By Brendon Hanley Jun 18, 2011, 21:29 GMT

Bethesda, Maryland - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy is in command at the US Open in Saturday's third round at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

The 22-year-old, who went into the round with a six-shot lead after opening rounds of 65 and 66, managed to extend that by a further shot as he moved to 12-under by the fifth hole.

McIlroy gave a good indication of the way he was approaching his second round at the par-four third, where his tee-shot ended up in the rough.

Instead of going for an aggressive attempt that might give him an unlikely birdie chance, he laid up to give himself an easy wedge shot, which he put within three feet of the hole for a simple tap-in for par.

He then birdied the fifth to move to 12-under, seven shots clear of Lee Westwood, who is six under on the day, and eight shots clear of five players: Frederick Jacobson, Jason Day, who are both on five-under on Saturday, Matt Kuchar, Robert Garrigus and McIlroy's playing partner YE Yang.

Of the early starters, several were finding birdies much easier to come by than on the first two days, with Webb Simpson being the best in the clubhouse after a five-under round of 66.

The 25-year-old who was just above the cut line after the first two rounds said that he struggled on Thursday and Friday. 'I just wanted to make the cut yesterday and I knew it was going to be a struggle.

'It's kind of been like that for me the whole year, I have had a slow start to a lot of tournaments and then had to figure things out as I went along. It was just a confidence thing for me today.'

Simpson's score took him to one-under for the tournament. 'It is exciting to be in this position. I was pleased to make the cut, I did not really know what to expect. I knew that if I made the cut, a couple of good rounds at the US Open can go a long way.'