Rory McIlroy laid the foundations for a two-stroke victory in the Deutsche Bank Championship over England's Paul Casey with a bewitching front nine performance, sinking five birdies to be five under at the turn

Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, had not claimed a trophy since the Colonial in May of 2014, when he was ranked number one in the world.

Rory McIlroy dropped six shots off the pace after a horror round of five-over 76 and has it all to do to defend his Australian Open crown in Sunday's final round.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy is assured of finishing top golfer in Europe for the second time in three years, despite skipping both lucrative "Final Series" events in Shanghai over the past two weeks.

Australian star Adam Scott, who captured his first major title last year at the Masters, fired a six-under par 65 to match American Cameron Tringale atop the leaderboard halfway into the first event of the season-ending PGA playoffs.

Australia's Adam Scott keeps the number one spot after finishing in a tie for fifth with countryman Marc Leishman on 12 under, five shots behind Northern Irish winner Rory McIlory.

On an Oak Hill layout softened by pre-dawn showers and a 70-minute afternoon rain delay, Scott and Furyk flirted with the course record of 64 shared by Ben Hogan and Curtis Strange before finishing on five-under par 65.

The 37-year-old world number one will seek his 15th major crown, and first such title since the 2008 US Open, when the PGA Championship opens Thursday at Oak Hill.

Nine months after making bogeys on the last four holes to squander a British Open lead at Royal Lytham and two years after sharing second at the Masters, the 32-year-old from Adelaide won his first major title in impressive fashion.

Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera are tied for the lead after the third round of the Masters, a day that will be remembered for Tiger Woods' penalty.