CHARLOTTE — Saturday got off to an impressive start. Justin Thomas, a PGA Tour rookie, put on a show starting at the fourth hole with a birdie-eagle-par-eagle stretch. A holed bunker shot on the par-five fifth led to his first eagle, and his three on the par-five seventh was the result of a nice second shot and getting a 23-foot putt to drop.

Those were just a couple of the highlights on his way to a front-nine 30 that propelled him near the top of the leaderboard in the morning.

“I’m just trying to take advantage of my length,” Thomas said. “This course doesn’t yield a lot of birdies, so I really need to take advantage of the holes I can.”

Thomas, who just turned 22, might be the pound-for-pound king of the PGA Tour. Despite being only 5-foot-10 and 145 pounds, he ranks 18th in driving distance, averaging 300 yards on the nose.

With the blitz Rory McIlroy put on the course in the afternoon, it’s easy to overlook what Thomas was able to accomplish Saturday. Thomas started the day at 2-under — eight shots behind co-leaders Webb Simpson and Robert Streb — and in a tie for 42nd with 12 other golfers.

He ended the day tied for sixth. Normally, that puts a golfer in contention going into the final round. McIlroy, however, set a course record with an 11-birdie, zero-bogey 61. It was one better than the mark he set during his Sunday surge in his 2010 victory at Quail Hollow. The old record was tied last year by Brandon De Jonge.

Thomas flashed the skill that put him in contention in his past three events. After a tie for 50th at the Shell Houston Open, he registered three straight finishes in the top 25 at the RBC Heritage, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Players Championship.

“I’m confident,” Thomas said. “I’m really excited to have a little better finishes than I’ve had. I feel like I’ve had some great chances, but I also understand the fact that kind of comes with it.”

While he has four top 10s in 18 events and is currently 40th in the FedEx Cup standings, Thomas is nowhere near satisfied. His sights are set on collecting that first win and joining his young contemporaries in their wave of success during the early part of 2015.

“This is just my first year,” he said. “Although I didn’t come out here in my first year to get a bunch of top 10s. I came out here to win.

“I feel like I’ve put myself in good places. Last week [at the Player Championship] was huge. It was by far the biggest atmosphere and the biggest pressure I’ve played under. So I’m excited going forward.”