McNeill, who was five adrift at the start of the round, carded a three-under 69 that left him tied on 203 with England's Justin Rose, Sweden's Mathias Gronberg and Justin Leonard.

Rose carded a 69, Gronberg shot a 66 and Leonard posted a 71.

Australia's Nick O'Hern (66) and Sweden's Carl Pettersson (67) were a further shot back on 204.

"I felt back in the tournament, and I felt like it was going to be us three guys fighting it out," Rose said. "Then all of a sudden now we're in a tournament where it's a complete logjam."

McNeill had a roller-coaster of a round that included two early bogeys but improved with two eagles.

McNeill sank a 34-foot putt for eagle on the 10th and made a 30-footer for another eagle on the 14th.

"I can't remember the last time I made two eagles in a round," said McNeill, who won the 2007 Frys.com Open for his lone tour title. "So I was pretty excited about those."

But he lost a chance to take the outright lead into the final round when he gave back three strokes on the final two holes.

After a bogey at 17, McNeill's drive at 18 was out of play. He took a drop, and eventually missed a 10-foot bogey putt.