Read More:

The world number one recovered to shoot 70 and was quick to apologise for his behaviour, while a new club made its way from Nike headquarters in time to be in his bag in time for today’s round.

That round got off to a good start with birdies on the third and seventh taking McIlroy to three under par and just five off the lead after JB Holmes began his round by three-putting from five feet on the first.

But McIlroy then found an unplayable lie following a wayward tee shot on the eighth and was lucky to see his third shot stop inches short of finding the water once more.

The 25-year-old was unable to take advantage of his good fortune and the resulting bogey dropped him back to two under and six off the pace.

Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia was the man making the biggest move up the leaderboard, birdies at the first, second and sixth taking the Spaniard to five under, while American Dustin Johnson had recovered from a bogey on the second with a hole-in-one on the fourth to reach four under.

Shane Lowry was a shot further back after recording five birdies and one bogey in his first 11 holes, while American Bill Haas had set the clubhouse target on four under after a superb 65.

Amazingly the fourth hole then saw a second hole-in-one just two groups later, Holmes holing out in a near-identical manner to Johnson as his ball pitched around 20 feet short of the pin and rolled into the cup at the perfect speed.

Both players used a seven iron on the 207-yard par three, which was playing downwind and far easier than on the first two days.

That vaulted Holmes to 10 under par and suddenly into a five-shot lead, with playing partner Ryan Moore having taken a triple-bogey seven on the previous hole after finding the water with his third shot from a fairway bunker.

Read More: