Brendan Steele shot a three-under-par 69 to retain the lead after the third round of the Frys.com Open Saturday, while world No. 3 Rory McIlroy endured another mediocre day on the greens in northern California to slide out of contention. Steele, on 14-under-par, holds a one-shot advantage over fellow Americans Andrew Loupe (63) and Kevin Na (64), with world number seven Justin Rose (68) among a group of eight two shots back on a crowded leaderboard at the Silverado Resort. McIlroy shot a mediocre 71 to slip eight strokes from the lead in an event he is only playing as part of a deal he made with the PGA Tour to play an exhibition in Turkey three years ago. He said he would use the final round to hone his game for the upcoming stretch on the European Tour. "It was another one of those days that nothing really went for me, I just couldn't get anything going, got a little frustrated," McIlroy told reporters. He also had a narrow escape when he was almost struck by Argentine Emiliano Grillo's tee shot. McIlroy had just played a chip shot from next to the green at the driveable par-four 17th when Grillo's drive landed only a couple of feet from the surprised the Briton, who clearly received no warning. Steele, seeking a second PGA Tour win, started the day with a two-shot lead but could not extend his advantage despite the benign conditions. Loupe picked up shots early and late en route to the best round of the day and a share of the course record in the opening event of the 2015-16 PGA Tour season. He birdied the first five and the last four holes to move within sight of his maiden tour victory. He has never finished better than fourth on the Tour. South Korean-born Na is seeking his second tour win after several near-misses since his lone triumph in 2011. He jumped into contention with a six-foot eagle at the par-five 16th, and added a tap-in birdie at the last. Sullivan pulls clear England's Andy Sullivan will take a five-shot lead into the final round of the Portugal Masters Sunday, seeking his third European Tour title of the season. Sullivan opened up the sizeable gap after a shotgun start was used for the third round on Saturday to get the players in before thunderstorms forecast for later in the afternoon. Whilst the rain and storms largely stayed away in the morning, the wind played havoc with birdies far harder to come by than on the first two days. Sullivan, however, stood firm adding a 67 to back-to-back 64s to get to 18 under for the tournament. That left him five shots ahead of Spain's Eduardo de la Riva, who closed with three successive birdies. Two shots further back came another Spaniard, Jorge Campillo and England's Chris Wood. With further bad weather forecast for Sunday, there will be another early morning shotgun start as Sullivan attempts to add to the South African Open and Joburg Open titles he won earlier in the year.
