Rory McIlroy remains three shots back heading into final round at Sentry Tournament of Champions

The Northern Irishman shot a bogey-free 68 but failed to close the gap on leader Gary Woodland

McIlroy is playing in the tournament for the first time (Getty)

Rory McIlroy remains three shots back heading into the final day of the PGA Tour’s calendar opening Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

The Northern Irishman shot a bogey-free 68 but failed to birdie either of the two closing par fives to close the gap on leader Gary Woodland.

The pair were tied through 14, but the American, who only learned hours before tee-off that his grandmother had passed away, holed a monstrous 65-foot eagle putt and followed up with a birdie to take a commanding advantage into Sunday.

The expansive Kapalua Plantation course lends itself to low-scoring finishes but no player has succeeded in overturning a three-shot deficit in the final round since 1999.

“Another final group is great, especially coming off the back of not being able to play as well as I would have liked in final groups last year,” McIlroy said. “So to get myself right back in contention and see if I’ve learned anything from last year and try to put that into practice is great.”

Gary Woodland holed a 65-foot eagle putt on the 15th (Getty)

“I probably pushed a little too hard, and it didn’t really work out for me.

“I just have to go about my business. I didn’t make a bogey today, so I’ll make that a goal tomorrow.”

Woodland does however have a track-record of failing to cope with the pressure of leading in the past. Despite being a four-time PGA Tour winner, on the six occasions he has taken the lead into the final round he has never seen out the victory, but the Kansan insisted he is a different player now.

“The difference is I’m a completely different player than I have been in the past,” Woodland said.

“I’ve obviously been in the position multiple times. It’s nice to build off those and take certain things out of them. ... I’m playing well enough where I don’t have to play conservative.

“I can attack and continue to trust what I’m doing and should be good.”