2023 RBC Canadian Open third round leaderboard, scores in Toronto

Rory McIlroy played only nine holes, the back nine, at Oakdale Golf and Country Club before teeing off Thursday in his opening round. He did the same thing last year at St. George’s.

Maybe there’s a secret to his success in Canada.

McIlroy, who has won the last two RBC Canadian Opens in 2019 and 2022, is again within striking distance for his third consecutive victory north of the border. McIlroy shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 on Saturday, moving to 12 under and in a four-way tie for second, two shots behind C.T. Pan, who sits at 14 under.

“I got off to a great start,” McIlroy said. “3-under through that first nine holes I felt was a really good effort. Kept it going through the first part of the back nine. Then the putter went a little cold on me over those last five holes. But, yeah, overall, it’s great to put myself in with a shot tomorrow. There’s a lot of people up there around the lead, so it’s going to be a fun day.”

If McIlroy were to win Sunday, he would be the first to win three Tour events in a row since Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic from 2009-11. A hat trick in Canada, some would say.

Last week, McIlroy held the solo lead at the Memorial Tournament before a final-round 75.

Pan, who finished fourth in his last start at the AT&T Byron Nelson, missed the cut in his previous three starts before that. He has dealt with a wrist injury for nearly five months before finding his stride at the Byron Nelson.

He birdied his two final holes to garner a two-shot advantage, Pan’s first 54-hole lead on Tour.

“It’s always cool to see my name on the top of the leaderboard,” Pan said. “Not just leaderboards, just to be in contention. That’s all I want to do before the tournament started. Finished birdie, birdie. That put me in a good spot. But I still got a lot of work to do.”

The 2019 RBC Heritage champion will have plenty of chasers, though, come Sunday.

Justin Rose birdied six of his final seven holes to move to 12 under and into the tie for second. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this season. Then there’s Mark Hubbard, Tommy Fleetwood, Harry Higgs and Andrew Novak, all at 12 under and searching for their first Tour victories.

That’s right, a six-way tie for second.

“I’m not going to change anything,” Hubbard said. “I’ve…