Rory McIlroy Bounces Back, Shoots 68 in 3rd Round of US Open at Winged Foot

World No. 4 Rory McIlroy played his way onto the fringes of contention in the third round of the 2020 U.S. Open on Saturday, as he shot a two-under 68 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York.

Upon entering the clubhouse, McIlroy was in ninth place in the tournament at one over. That put him six strokes behind leader Matthew Wolff.

On a day when much of the field struggled and finished with an over-par score, McIlroy carded three birdies, one bogey and 14 pars.

The four-time major champion began the day with a steady display of golf, as he parred each of the first six holes. His first birdie came on the par-three seventh, and he added another at the par-five ninth before making the turn.

McIlroy began the round in 22nd place, but as pointed out by Greg Logan of Newsday, he quickly put himself in the mix with a two-under front nine:

Rory's first major mistake of the day came at the start of the back nine, though, as he bogeyed the par-three 10th and dropped back down to one under for the round and two over for the tourney.

That miscue could have turned McIlroy's day upside down, but he quickly rebounded with a birdie on the par-five 12th to get the stroke back. With that, Rory birdied each of Winged Foot's two par-fives.

Given how tough Winged Foot tends to play, a par can feel as good as a birdie at times, and that was the case on the par-four 15th for McIlroy.

The Northern Irishman made a mess of the tee shot and approach, but he sunk a tough par putt to avoid damage to his scorecard:

As big as that make was, his birdie miss from closer in on the 16th was a heartbreaker since it would have inched him closer to the leaders.

McIlroy followed that up with two more pars to finish his round, so while he didn't lower his score, he did avoid disaster and kept himself in the conversation inside the top 10.

Rory has plenty of work to do Sunday and will likely need some help in order to win his second U.S. Open title, especially since recent history isn't on his side, as pointed out by Justin Ray of 15th Club:

McIlroy was significantly better Saturday than he was Sunday when he posted a six-over 76, but that performance in the second round may be what prevents him from truly challenging for the title.

Rory seems like something of a long shot to join the leaders considering how well Wolff and Patrick Reed are playing, but he isn't out of it yet.