Rory McIlroy told he needs to be ‘worried’ after the weather forecast for day three at The Open is released

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There was a time on Friday when it seemed like Rory McIlroy was right in the mix to win The Open Championship.

However, Scottie Scheffler decided to put the afterburners on at Royal Portrush, and hometown hero McIlroy now trails The Open leader by seven shots heading into the weekend.

McIlroy said he was really excited to be in contention at The Open after his second round on Friday.

However, that was before Scheffler posted a 64, and if the Northern Irishman does still have a chance of winning The Open, it is a very slim one.

McIlroy has been cheered on by the galleries at The Open during the first two rounds at Portrush, but if truth be known, he hasn’t quite had his ‘A’ game.

If he is to have any chance of winning The Open this year, McIlroy will need to post something in the mid-60s on Saturday.

Will that be possible though, with the weather forecast?

Rory McIlroy should be ‘worried’ about weather forecast at The Open

McIlroy needs to go out on Saturday afternoon and make some early birdies in order to put pressure on the leaders.

And it seems like he may well be able to do that, with the weather looking great for Saturday afternoon in Portrush.

However, golf journalist Ryan Laver explained why that is actually bad news for McIlroy, when speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav.

Lavner explained: “I just looked at the forecast. On Saturday it’s going to be temperatures of around 70 degrees, it is going to be cloudy and the winds are not going to be that high. About 10 to 15mph. Which when you are playing links golf it’s not that detrimental or prohibitive. That is going to lead to even better scoring than what we score in the second round. That has to make Rory McIlroy think a bit worried because everyone is basically playing this golf course the exact same way.

“You are making the birdies on the birdie holes, you know you are holding on for dear life on the holes like the 11th, which are the most difficult on the golf course, the par fives are reachable, there are some drivable par fours as well. So everyone is playing the same way.

“If you are a chaser or a pursuer you want the golf course to play as difficult as possible because that is how you can separate yourself but if everyone is shooting 64, 65, 66, 67 it’s difficult to make up ground, particularly with the number one player in the world at the top.“

It’s an interesting take from Lavner, but one that I’m not entirely on board with.

Argument against good weather being bad for Rory McIlroy at The Open

There is another way of looking at all of this.

The thing is, McIlroy needs to burst out of the blocks quickly by making plenty of birdies on his front nine.

If he does that, he will apply a bit of pressure to Scheffler at least.

However, if the wind blows and the rain comes down, it will be hard for McIlroy to make inroads into Scheffler’s lead during the hour or so that he is on the course before the leader tees off.

I personally think the weather forecast for day three of The Open Championship is a good thing for McIlroy.

It remains to be seen whether he can produce the quality of golf required to take advantage of that, though.