McIlroy leads as Lowry powers into top-five at Scottish Open

Rory McIlroy holds a one stroke lead while Shane Lowry launched himself in the top-5 ahead of the final round of the Genesis Scottish Open.

Seeking a first ever professional tournament victory in Scotland, McIlroy maintained the one stroke lead he held on Friday evening after a three-under 67 in Gullane.

The World No. 3 briefly threatened to cut loose on Saturday, with two birdies on his opening three holes, followed by a couple more on the 7 and 10 lifting him to 14-under for the tournament, giving him a two-stroke lead.

However, bogeys on 12 and 15, partially offset by a birdie on the par-3 14th saw him sit on 13 under, one stroke clear of playing partner Trevor Kim heading into Sunday.

McIlroy admitted a first victory in Scotland was long overdue.

"It would be great. I've had a lot of close calls in Opens and Dunhill Links and all sorts of stuff, but it would be fantastic.

"I remember playing my first Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in 2005. It’s nice to reminisce and I’ve come a long way since then, but 18 years is too long for me to not pick up a trophy in this country."

Despite his momentum stalling as the round progressed, the Holywood man remained positive ahead of the final day.

"I felt like I played really good golf for those first 11 holes and made that first bogey on 12 and it was a little scrappy coming in from there," McIlroy said.

"But overall another solid day's play and put myself into a great position going into the final day.

"There’s a lot of great players behind me but it’s going to be difficult for everyone. When the wind gets like that there’s a lot of skill involved but it’s also just attitude and trying to stay upbeat when you’re probably going to get bad breaks here and there.

"The guy with the best attitude