Rory prays for rain after charge hits the buffers
RORY McILROY is praying for bad weather and a Jordan Spieth meltdown to stand a chance of winning the Claret Jug after his third-round charge ground to a halt.
The former world No1, who started the day five shots behind, had the galleries roaring in delight as he fired three birdies in the first five holes to rocket up the leaderboard.
But back-to-back bogeys at seven and eight stopped him in his tracks and a calamitous double bogey at the 10th looked to have shattered McIlroy’s hopes of winning a second Open.
McIlroy finally signed for a one-under-par 69 to leave him nine shots behind Spieth and with a mountain to climb.
McIlroy said: ‘I need help from the leaders and bad weather. Matt Kuchar and Jordan are playing well. I’d need to post a really good score in bad conditions.’
McIlroy had come into The Open in poor form but looked to have turned it around with a burst of stunning scoring over the first six holes.
He said: ‘I had a chance to get to four under on five. I was hitting it well, I couldn’t have asked to get off to a better start. I was really rolling.
‘I had a putt for birdie on six and left it short and then two bogeys stopped me in my tracks.
‘The double at 10 was a kick in the teeth. I hit the wrong club on the tee, three iron was a huge mental error.’
While McIlroy was going backward, littleknown Canadian Austin Connelly was heading in the right direction with a nerveless 66.
Connelly — who was born in Texas, has duel American-Canadian citizenship and is a close friend of Spieth’s — looked right at home at Birkdale, even though this was his first major.
The 20-year-old only qualified by winning a play-off at Royal Cinque Ports but has grabbed his chance and will be out in the penultimate group this afternoon. ‘It’s crazy,’ he said. ‘I’m very happy. I like the course, it suits my game. I’m enjoying myself.’
He got off to a dream start by holing out for an eagle at the second and said: ‘I tried my hardest to not let it get to me and keep a straight face.’