Rory McIlroy says if he believes he can still win the Australian Open despite trailing by nine shots

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Rory McIlroy hasn’t been anywhere near his best at the Australian Open in Melbourne this week.

In fact, at one stage on Friday it seemed like McIlroy could actually miss the cut at the Australian Open.

However, the Northern Irishman finished his second round in fine style before posting a third round 68 to sit in a tie for 24th, nine shots adrift of the leader, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

McIlroy made the Australian Open cut with three strokes to spare in the end.

Still, he entered the week with ambitions of winning the golf tournament, as he does every single time he plays.

As things stand, his chances of doing just that look very bleak indeed.

McIlroy is clearly loving playing out in Australia, and he is said to be eyeing more of a global schedule next year and beyond.

But can he still make the 2025 Australian Open one to remember?

Rory McIlroy says if he can win the Australian Open despite trailing by nine shots

McIlroy is capable of shooting extremely low scores and he has mounted some incredible comebacks throughout his career.

The Northern Irishman came from six behind to win the Tour Championship in 2022 and he emerged victorious at the BMW PGA Championship in 2014 after trailing by seven heading into the final round.

So does he still think he has a chance to win at Royal Melbourne on Sunday, despite heading into the final round nine behind Neergaard-Petersen?

“I feel like this week’s a week of firsts in a lot of ways. I mean, I shouldn’t have been there in the first place, but yeah, it wasn’t the best to start,” McIlroy said.

“But I feel like I played well after that. Sort of got a feel for it a little bit and especially I feel like I played the back nine well. Just need to figure out how to make a few more birdies on the front.

“I’m probably going to be a little too far behind to challenge but hopefully I can finish my week on a high and record my best score of the four days.”

Rory McIlroy’s Australian Open round three stats

McIlroy is probably too far behind to still have a chance of winning in Melbourne on Sunday, as he admitted himself.

However, if there is anyone capable of getting on a heater and shooting 61 or 62 around the challenging sandbelt links, McIlroy is.

Here are his stats from round three at Royal Melbourne:

McIlroy will obviously have to really tidy up his putting if he is to go super-low at the Australian Open on Sunday.

And even if he does shoot in the low 60s, it may well not be enough to overtake the likes of Neergaard-Petersen, Si Woo Kim, Cam Smith, Josele Ballester and many, many more.