Seamus Power birdied two of his last four holes to move to within four shots of Scottie Scheffler heading into the final round of the RBC Heritage.
Power is in a share of seventh place on twelve-under-par at the $20m event after a third round of 66 with Scheffler leading the way by the minimum on sixteen-under after a magnificent 63.
The West Waterford man made an electric start with four birdies in seven holes including three in a row from the fifth and he recovered from his only bogey of the day on 11 with a nice finish to keep his hopes of a third PGA TOUR crown alive.
But he faces a task that not many have been able to complete this year, hunt down the world number one.
Scheffler looked in a league of his own during his 63 and he hasn’t dropped a shot since a double bogey on the 2nd in round one.
The Masters champion only played nine holes of practice on Wednesday but has looked better and better with each round and he leads Sepp Straka by one with Collin Morikawa a shot further back.
Not since Bernhard Langer in 1985 has a Masters champion won the following week on the PGA TOUR at Harbour Town Golf Links. The only other Masters champion to win the next week was Gary Player in 1978 at the Tournament of Champions.
“I think when I’m playing my best, sometimes it feels like I’m competing against myself a little bit out there, trying to keep pushing and stay as focused as I can,” Scheffler said.
“At the end of the day, we’re out here competing against the best players in the world. I love competing against these guys, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of coming out and competing tomorrow.”
Scheffler has gone 51 consecutive holes at par or better at Harbour Town. He posted his 39th consecutive round at par or better dating to the TOUR Championship last August.
“I think we all expect him to play well, and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Ludvig Åberg, who trails by three said. “All I try to do is focus on myself and make sure that I hit the shots the way I want to and then see where that takes me.”
Rory McIlroy is in T12 on ten-under and will need to pull off something special and then some to arrest the six-shot gap despite carding a 68 in round three.
The four-time major winner started well with three birdies in five holes but played the remaining thirteen holes in level-par with three birdies and as many bogeys.
Shane Lowry improved with a 68 to move to three-under and T50.