SHANGHAI—On a day when eight players had a chance to take the lead at the HSBC Champions, Rory McIlroy found the best way to move forward was to not go backward.
He didn’t get the most out of his round Saturday at Sheshan International.
But he had the lead.
McIlroy hit a towering lob wedge that spun down the ridge to three feet for birdie on the par-5 closing hole to take a one-shot lead over Louis Oosthuizen on a day of big runs and unseemly collapses. He had neither.
McIlroy IS at 15-under 201 as he goes for his first World Golf Championship since 2015, his fourth victory of the year and a chance to move a little closer to the No. 1 ranking.
Oosthuizen began the third round with five straight birdies and finished with two birdies over his last three holes for a 65. Li Haotong of China had a 74 that knocked him out of contention. —AP