Rory McIlroy on eventful Open round of 66: 'I played well and rode my luck at times'

Saturday's effort leaves him six shots behind Scottie Scheffler after the American's 67

FANS FAVOURITE: Rory McIlroy looks on from the rough on the 17th hole during day three of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Antrim. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.

Rory McIlroy feels like he has given himself "half a chance" of pushing for a second Open title on Sunday with a five-under par round of 66 that contained four birdies, an eagle, a bogey and two bizarre moments.

It was a round backdropped by a vociferous crowd that urged him on at every chance and every half-chance. And it leaves him six shots behind Scottie Scheffler with the leader in splendid isolation at 14-under after signing for a four-under 67 late in the evening.

Bottom line? McIlroy gained one shot on the favourite on a day of brilliant sunshine that offered up plenty of opportunities for low scores.

“Yeah, it was incredible,” he said post-round. “It was so much fun … I played well. I rode my luck at times, but yeah, it was an incredible atmosphere out there. I feel like I've at least given myself half a chance tomorrow.”

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McIlroy, starting seven shots behind, reeled off three birdies in his first four holes to sit at six-under par. His charge lost some steam mid-round with no more shots dropped or picked up from there to the turn.

There was a bizarre twist at the difficult 11th when a lucky break left him with a great lie off a wayward tee shot before his second was affected by what turned out to be a buried ball underneath his own that only surfaced on contact.

The five-time major champion picked up the unexpected object with an astonished smile but the end result to the hole was a scuffed chip from the fairway that left him with a long putt for par that didn’t disappear.

McIlroy could ill afford dropped shots, not least with Scheffler carding an eagle minutes later, so the eagle of his own that followed on 12 was critical, and he reached eight-under with a birdie at 15 before another twist on the second last.

A tee shot pulled right ended up on an elevated mound outside the ropes before a member of the public picked up the ball. That allowed him to place it for his second shot but he couldn’t capitalize on the break with another birdie.

“Yeah, what happened on 11 was just so… My ball came out so strange. Like, I thought I was going to get a flier and I looked up at my ball, and I could see it spinning up against the wind. Just a really weird… I had obviously no idea there was a ball anywhere close to my ball.

“I could have done better with the chip shot there anyway. That was the bogey… I mean, making bogey on 11 is not the end of the world. It's a tough hole. Yeah, the eagle on 12 was one of the coolest moments of.

“It's one of the largest roars I've ever heard on a golf course. So that was a really cool moment. To get those shots back straight away was nice, and I felt like I played the last few holes really solid and picked one up coming in, which was good.” Sitting in at tie for fourth as Scheffler was wrapping up, McIlroy knows how difficult it will be for any of the chasing pack to catch the American who has a tight grip on this tournament now and is playing some superb golf.

“There doesn't seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you're trying to chase down a guy like that, it's hard to do. But he's incredibly impressive.” All McIlroy can do now is sit back and prepare for his 18 holes on Sunday. That starts with some dinner, as much sleep as he can and something to distract him after spending Saturday morning watching the All Blacks play France and the British and Irish Lions play Australia.

“I'll try to find something to watch. I started ‘Oppenheimer’ last night. Try to get through another hour of it tonight and maybe finish it tomorrow morning.

“Apart from that, just keep my mind off of things. I always do better with distraction. So if I can just distract myself and get my mind on something else, that's always a good plan for me.”

Sitting between Scheffler and McIlroy is Haotong Li of China who is four off the top at minus-ten after a 69, and Matt Fitzpatrick, one back again after a disappointing level-par round of 71.