McIlroy seeks way back onto the birdie trail
Rory McIlroy began the third round of the Open Championship at St Andrews in encouraging form after yesterday's collapse, the first round leader finding his first birdie since Thursday.
But the 21-year-old's good run was short-lived, McIlroy bogeying the next hole to find himself on level par after five holes today, one-under for the tournament.
McIlroy's playing partner Camilo Villegas encountered some difficulty on the 6th, the Columbian hitting his tee shot into a bunker, which he then took a couple of attempts to escape. That left the 28-year-old on a double bogey, one-over-par for the day and on level par for the tournament.
Robert Rock finished today's round five-under-par, leaving him three-under for the tournament, while another Englishman, Ross Fisher, has forced his way into contention with five birdies after 15 holes. That leaves Fisher five-under for the day, four-under in total.
Phil Mickelson began his round with a bogey on the 2nd, but three birdies have seen him pull back to two-under, both for the day and the tournament, after eight holes. Phil's nemesis Tiger Woods is yet to tee off, but the world No. 1 managed to come home just one-over in yesterday's treacherous conditions, which is nothing short of miraculous. Woods is currently tied for 14th place on four-under-par, and begins his third round at 15:05pm.
England's Ian Poulter has had a disappointing opening to his third round, a bogey on the 1st and a double on the 7th seeing the flamboyantly garbed player three-over for the day, and on the same score for the tournament.
The current leader - and it's going to take something to catch him, assuming he can hold on to that 12-under - Louis Oosthuizen, is due to start his round at 16:40.
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