Rory McIlroy responds when asked if he can still win The Open despite currently trailing by seven

Rory McIlroy has been nowhere near his best during the first three rounds of The Open this week.

McIlroy has shot rounds of 72, 67 and 69, and he currently sits at two-under par through three rounds of The Open.

The 37-year-old simply hasn’t played much over the past two months and that has shown over his previous four or five tournaments.

Despite that, Rory McIlroy entered the week at The Open with high hopes.

However, he has flattered to deceive for the most part at Royal Birkdale.

McIlroy spoke to reporters after his third round at Royal Birkdale on Saturday.

The Northern Irishman was asked whether he believes he can still win despite the huge deficit that he will have to overcome on Sunday.

“Yeah, I’m probably, you know, I think if I could have got in today at five-under for the tournament, three behind Foxy, I feel like I would have had more of a chance,“ he replied.

“We’ll see. I’ll be out early enough again tomorrow and see what happens.

“But probably a little too far back.“

McIlroy will have to go seriously low on Sunday if he is to have any chance whatsoever of winning The Open, but he’s certainly more than capable.

62 has been shot multiple times already this week at Birkdale, so why can’t McIlroy do it?

McIlroy responded when asked what he made of Ryan Fox’s scintillating 62 on Saturday.

“I think the first thing is you have to be in the fairway to then be able to impart enough spin on the ball to access the pins,“ McIlroy said.

“But then you have to hit the ball with the right trajectory, whether it’s hitting it high into some holes or maybe hitting wedge shots that sort of skip up the green for you.

“I think with the approach shots this week, you’ve definitely had to show a lot of variety in your game and in your approach shots. Foxy flights the ball as well as anyone out here.

“Yeah, 62, he got — the wind wasn’t up and the conditions were quite benign this morning, but it was still a hell of a round. He’s got himself in the lead on his own, which we’ll see where it stands at the end of the day, but really impressive.“

Now Rory McIlroy will have to match that score at the very least on Sunday, if he is to put himself in the mix to win The Open.