McIlroy, who is hoping to become the fourth player after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods to win consecutive Masters titles, previously held a six-shot lead at this point.
He won the 2011 US Open by eight shots – claiming the first of his five majors – and also dominated the field with an eight-shot victory at the 2012 US PGA Championship.
And he plans to maintain an aggressive approach around Augusta National over the weekend as he tries to match the top six of Faldo, Phil Mickelson and Lee Trevino.
When asked what advice he would have for those heading into 2011 ahead of Saturday, he said, “Don’t play it safe. Go out and play free, keep swinging.”
McIlroy had a four-shot lead going into the final round at that year’s Masters, but fell off the leaderboard after carding an eight-over-par 80.
“A big part of the lesson from the 2011 Masters to the 2011 US Open was not to be protective,” he said. “Go out there and keep playing, keep trying to make birdies, be as confident and committed as possible.”
McIlroy also said he plans to take his focus off the third round by watching tennis and spending time with his daughter Poppy.
“That distraction is usually a good thing for me, especially with late tee times and leads,” he said.
“In tennis there are two very good semi-finals in Monte Carlo. So I will watch them.
“We’re watching tennis early in the morning. And then hopefully spending some time with Poppy. I think we’re halfway through Zootopia 2.”
