McIlroy pleased with fighting finish

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy produced a fighting finish to keep his Open hopes alive and lead the Irish challenge at Sandwich.

The Holywood star struggled badly on the greens and was two-over with seven holes to play before he birdied the 14th and then knocked in a 12 footer at the last for a level par 70 that leaves him six shots behind leader Louis Oosthuizen.

“I’m really happy with that finish,” said McIlroy, who is tied 48th on level par. “It was a pretty tricky afternoon. The conditions got pretty rough there in the middle of the round and I made a few bogeys in a row. 

“So I said to myself at the turn, if I could just get back to even par, I’d be happy. To birdie the last hole and get back top even par, it was nice to finish like that and I look forward to getting back out there tomorrow.

“To battle back and shoot even par and play the last 11 holes in two-under, I was pretty pleased with that in those conditions.”

Oosthuizen fired a bogey-free, six-under 64 to lead by a shot from Jordan Spieth and left-hander Brian Harman but it was a struggle for the rest of the Irish.

Defending champion Shane Lowry struggled with his driver and bogeyed the last to end the day tied for 74th with Jon Rahm and 2011 champion Darren Clarke as Pádraig Harrington dropped three shots in his first four holes en route to a 72 and joint 91st.