PGA Tour rookie Trevor Cone carded a bogey-free 9-under 63 for a 17-under, 199 total to take the 54-hole lead by one shot at the Barbasol Championship.

His previous low round was 65 and his previous best 54-hole score was 204, both at the AT&T Byron Nelson earlier this year where he finished T23, his best result so far.

“I hit it really well, hit it pretty close early on and then made a couple 10- to 15-footers on 2, 3 and 4., just got a rolling.

“Just played smart, fairways, greens, not get too aggressive. I mean, just hoped the putter came alive and today it did, hopefully it continues tomorrow. Just don’t get ahead of yourself. Out here I think playing the par 5s is the most important thing. If you can take advantage of those, makes the rest of the golf course a little bit easier.

“Yesterday I played really, really solid. Didn’t quite finish the round the way I wanted to, but good things finally started happening and snowballing. So I think the best thing today was something with the putter clicked. Made a slight tweak in setup and that seemed to get my eyes in the right place and see the lines a little better.”

The American leads the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (4.581), Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (11.710) and Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (8.361).

First- and second-round leader Lucas Glover of the United States posted a 69, his 11th straight round in the 60s, and moved down into a share of second place at 16-under.

“[This round was] sloppy, to be honest. Sloppy early and a little sloppy through the rain for a couple reasons, then a nice finish.

“Definitely need to clean a couple things up this afternoon and get ready for tomorrow. It’s going to be a shootout and I can’t hit it how I hit it today and expect to be there in the end tomorrow, so got to go work a little bit.

“I knew there were opportunities late. No. 15’s always reachable no matter what the wind is and took advantage there. Then I hit a couple nice shots on 17. With that pin you’ve got the backstop, I knew that was a chance. So I knew I had some chances coming in, I just had to execute and finally did it.”

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A third round of 67 ensured halfway leader McIlroy remained the man to catch at The Renaissance Club on 13 under par.

Another PGA Tour rookie, Vincent Norrman of Sweden, recorded his eighth straight under-par round on Tour with a 67 to move into second place. He has had two top-10 finishes so far this season (T9/Zurich Classic of New Orleans with teammate Matthias Schwab, T8/AT&T Byron Nelson).

France’s Adrien Saddier lies in solo fourth place at 15-under after closing with a 67.

England’s Nathan Kimsey’s own 67 places him in a share of fifth place at 14-under alongside South African Jayden Schaper who carded a bogey-free 68.

Preferred lies were in effect during the third round.