Rory McIlroy at US Open 2015: Saturday Leaderboard Score and Twitter Reaction

There was finally some good news for Rory McIlroy at the 2015 U.S. Open, as the world's top-ranked player managed to avoid shooting over par with a 70 on Saturday. He's still far off the lead with 18 holes to play, but this was a positive step for him coming off back-to-back 72s. 

McIlroy had a much better finish to his round Saturday compared to shooting three over on the last two holes Friday. He went par-par on No. 17 and 18. 

Here's the full leaderboard for the U.S. Open that McIlroy is looking at heading into Sunday:

Rhythm has been a problem for McIlroy, and most players, at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, throughout this tournament. He told reporters after the first round that his striking felt good before getting on the greens, according to Tim Booth of the Associated Press (via the Oakland Press):

"

It was frustrating, especially how I felt I hit the ball from tee to green. I thought I drove the ball great, I thought I hit my iron shots very, very well. ... I felt like I gave myself enough chances out there to convert a few and then had a couple of (shorter) putts on the last few holes there. I definitely thought it was a day where you could shoot under par and I didn’t take advantage of that.

"

Fast-forward to the third round, and McIlroy still isn't in full sync with his game despite improving on the consecutive days over par. He's still struggling on the back nine, hitting bogeys on 11 and 15, to dampen his otherwise strong showing. 

Yet after McIlroy was done Saturday, he went back to how well he's been striking the ball, per Golfing World:

That statement from McIlroy goes to show how hard things have become at Chambers Bay. Players are still having an impossible time adjusting to the course, though it's made for a cluttered leaderboard thus far and drama heading into the final round. 

Another moment that illustrated the difficulty of this course came when McIlroy was in the bunker on No. 18. He hit a solid shot out of the sand, but the green took the ball away from the hole and he was forced to settle for par. 

Golf Australia noted on Twitter that McIlroy's frustration seemed to be reaching a boiling point after he carded a 70:

Golfing World pointed out that McIlroy may have left as many as five shots on the Chambers Bay course:

According to Paul Barrett of the Seattle Times, McIlroy even mentioned his disappointment in the greens after his round ended:

With few exceptions, that's how it's been for most players this week. McIlroy is playing much better than his four-over par score through 54 holes would indicate, but it's difficult to adjust when greens are playing this fast and the overall layout is so difficult to consistently convert opportunities. 

The first nine holes were solid for McIlroy on Saturday, as he had two birdies and no bogeys before the turn. One of those birdies came on the seventh hole, which Helen Ross of PGATour.com noted has been the hardest hole on the course:

That was a nice change of pace for McIlroy, who was one of the many players to bogey No. 7 on Thursday and Friday. 

Overall, this wasn't the kind of round McIlroy needed after starting the day nine shots behind co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. The good news is low scores have been virtually nonexistent so far, as Ian Poulter's 69 is the best round of the day before the leaders tee off. 

It will take a confluence of events going right over the next 24 hours for McIlroy to have a shot at winning the U.S. Open. That would be impossible on a lot of courses, but this U.S. Open has been so unusual thus far that anything could happen. 

A more realistic scenario for McIlroy will be putting his frustration from Saturday behind him, posting a solid round Sunday and setting himself up well for the British Open in four weeks as he seeks his first major title in 2015.