McIlroy Frustrated with Golf Form

Rory McIlroy admitted he was frustrated after recording a three over par 73 that ended his hopes of winning the Claret Jug for another year.

The 23 year-old World No. 2 will go into tomorrow’s final round on five over par 215 and too far behind the leaders to mount a serious challenge.

The Holywood started his third round with a trio of pars but then dropped shots at the 4th, 5th and 8th to go out in three over par 37. He shed another shot on the 12th before securing his only birdie of the day with a three on the 336-yard par-4 16th hole.

“I got off to a bad start and couldn’t really do much from there,” he said. “It’s a bit frustrating. I was up for it this morning trying to go out there and post a good score but after playing the front nine like I did you’re just trying to shoot the best score you can.

“I’m frustrated but that’s just the way it is. That’s golf. You just have to get on with it and keep practising and stay patient until it turns around.”

McIlroy has had little to cheer about in the Majors since capturing the US Open 13 months ago. He finished tied 25th at last year’s Open and tied 64th at the subsequent PGA Championship before claiming a share of 40th place at this year’s Masters and missing the cut on his defence of the recent US Open at the Olympic Club.

GUR for Lytham Bunkers - McDowell

Graeme McDowell last night warned that some of The Open’s waterlogged bunkers were not fair and should be taken out of play.

The heavy rain of recent weeks saw the water table at Royal Lytham & St Annes on the Lancashire coast rise to such an extent that there was casual water in several of the links course’s bunkers during the first two rounds and McDowell said that unless they were dried out, the R&A should consider ruling them Ground Under Repair (GUR), meaning a player can drop out of such areas without penalty. 

"A few of those bunkers there are kind of a little bit of a question mark," said McDowell. "But we’re lucky that we’re playing. The golf course is on the edge of unplayable. 

"I’m not sure in other parts of the world if this was a normal tournament, some of those bunkers need to be GUR’d. I saw one in particular left of the 16th green, if you hit it in there, there’s nowhere to drop and there’s a foot of water. 

"That’s not golf. It’s not fair. A few of these bunkers that are question marks need to be taken out of play. Hopefully they can get them dried out overnight. 

"The golf course has remained unbelievably dry, considering how much rain we’ve had. The bunkers are a little dodgy in some places, unfortunately."

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Tiger Finally Roars at Lytham...

Brandt Just Snedeker's into Lead

Brandt Snedeker matched a 20-year-old record held by Sir Nick Faldo as he earned a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Open Championship at Royal Lytham.

The American emulated Adam Scott's opening-day 64 to move to 10 under par after 36 flawless holes and become only the second man after Faldo in 1992 to post a halfway score of 130.

Scott scrambled hard to return a 67 which left him one behind Snedeker and three ahead of Tiger Woods, who holed a bunker escape for birdie at the last to post a second-straight 67.

Snedeker birdied the first for the second day running and picked up three shots in four holes to complete an outward 30.

Like Scott on day one, the 31-year-old threatened to card the first 62 in major history when he added further birdies at 11 and 12, but he had to settle for six closing pars to set a blistering clubhouse target.

Snedeker's lead was never seriously threatened during another benign day until Scott followed an uncertain front-nine 34 with birdies at 10 and 11.

The Australian's assured putting helped him save par several times during the round, and he converted a superb approach to five feet at the last to cap a 67 which left him one shot behind.

But the leading pair will be looking over their shoulders for Woods, who plotted his way around the Lytham links in a thoroughly professional manner.

The 14-time major champion used his driver only once, content to hit fairways with long irons and aim for the heart of the greens with the majority of his approaches.

His tactic faltered only once, when he carved his tee shot into rough at the long 11th en route to a bogey-six, but he picked up shots at the fourth, sixth and 16th before his grandstand finish took him to six under.

Unheralded Dane Thorbjorn Olesen ensured a dream pairing with Woods for the third round as he picked up four shots in five holes around the turn and also birdied the last two to get to five under.

Paul Lawrie (71) and Graeme McDowell (69) are a further shot adrift along with Matt Kuchar, Jason Dufner and Thomas Aiken, while world No 1 Luke Donald fired a solid 68 to reach two under.

But Rory McIlroy's round unravelled with a double-bogey at nine, and he came home in 39 to slip to two over after a 75, while Lee Westwood (70) made the weekend with nothing to spare amongst a host of big names a shot further back.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Darren Clarke blamed a cold putter after seeing his Open Championship defence fizzle out after two rounds at Royal Lytham.

Clarke added a second round of 71 to his opening 76 for a seven-over-par total of 147, comfortably outside the halfway cut.

"I'm disappointed, I would have liked to come here and put up a good score in defence," said the 43-year-old Ulsterman, who has struggled to reproduce anything like the form which brought him a shock victory at Royal St George's 12 months ago.

"Tee to green was okay, I just had a very cold putter again. It's not been very good for a long time. The damage was done yesterday but I gave myself plenty of chances to make it up today."

Clarke still harboured hopes of making the cut after birdies at both par threes on the front nine contributed to an outward half of 33, but he could not find any more birdies and a bogey on the 18th, where he missed a very short putt, summed up his day.

He was at least able to enjoy the warm reception of the crowds who defied the muddy conditions, admitting: "The roar coming down the last was fantastic. The crowd were wonderful to me last year and have been to me all year round. It is a pity I didn't give them anything to shout about.

"It has been an honour and privilege to be Open champion. It is a huge honour to have my name on the Claret Jug and they will be memories that I cherish forever."