Rory McIlroy: ‘Honestly, I’m happy with my two rounds of golf’

Rory McIlroy will go into today’s third round of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon eight shots behind leader Phil Mickelson but believing winning a second Claret Jug in three years is not beyond the realms of possibility.

McIlroy appeared as happy as aCheshire Cat rather than the drowned rats many of his contemporaries among the afternoon starters felt like after a testing day’s golf played in gusting winds and heavy rains during the middle of their second rounds.

Despite a strong start to his round with three birdies in his first seven holes, he had shot a level-par 71 at Royal Troon in the worst of the week’s weather on Scotland’s west coast to remain on two under par and has an eight-stroke deficit to reduce over the next 36 holes to bridge the gap to halfway front-runner Mickelson.