Rory McIlroy reveals what disappointed him about his third round five-under 65 at Canadian Open

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Rory McIlroy has shared what disappointed him about his third round at the RBC Canadian Open which left the Northern Irishman seven shots off the lead in Ontario.

Rory McIlroy largely played himself out of contention at the Canadian Open with a second round 72 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

The 35-year-old started Saturday eight shots back of Robert MacIntyre, but that appeared to free the two-time champion of the event up as he produced a stunning front nine.

McIlroy made three birdies and one eagle to reach the turn in five-under for the day, and it seemed that he had an outside chance of bringing himself back into contention.

Rory McIlroy reveals what disappointed him about third round performance

Unfortunately, there were fewer fireworks on the back nine, with McIlroy bogeying 10 and 17 to finish with a 65, seven shots back of his Ryder Cup teammate.

And speaking in his press conference after the round, McIlroy admitted that he was frustrated by his inability to keep the pressure on after the turn.

“Honestly, once I turned in five-under, I thought if I could play the back in three and get to 10-under on the day, I would have a really good chance then. A little disappointed not to pick anymore up on the back nine, but definitely an improvement on yesterday,” he said.

Scottish Open victory may give Northern Irishman hope of unlikely victory

McIlroy does appear to have too much work to do to genuinely compete on Sunday, but he will be hoping that he get off to a flyer before MacIntyre begins his round.

Interestingly, it was the Scot McIlroy beat by one shot at last year’s Scottish Open. Few will forget that two iron the four-time major champion hit on the last to put himself on the brink of victory.

With MacIntyre four clear of the rest of the field, McIlroy only needs to set his sights on the 27-year-old initially. And if he can replicate his front nine from the third round, McIlroy will believe that everything will be to play for as he makes the turn.