World number four McIlroy, the 2014 Open champion who missed his title defence 12 months ago due to an ankle injured playing football, went into Saturday's third round eight shots off the lead but still believing he could recapture the Claret Jug on Sunday evening.

Instead he will begin the final round at level par following his two-over-par, third-round 73, a dozen shots adrift of 54-hole leader Henrik Stenson.

Ireland's three other competitors still in the championship will have similar objectives. Two-time Open winner Padraig Harrington slipped to two over for the tournament after a two-over 73, while the same score sent 2011 champion Darren Clarke back to three over, while Graeme McDowell dropped a shot to five over with a third-round 72.

Part one of the Irishman's mission had been to make inroads into Phil Mickelson's midway lead during Saturday's third round but instead of the fast start he prescribed on Friday evening, McIlroy bogeyed the first and third holes having missed short putts at both to halt any momentum he had hoped to build for the round ahead.

A birdie-bogey-birdie run followed from the fourth hole suggested there was a rollercoaster day in the offing for the four-time major champion but McIlroy then could do no better than par his way around until the par-four 15th and then it was a backward step.

With the bogey at 15 and the missed putts still gnawing at him, a frustrated McIlroy played his second shot at the next hole and the displeasure at the result of his fairway wood all too obvious as he threw it away, the head separating from the shaft on impact with the turf.

“It was tough. I think I've been saying all week that you need to get off to a good start on this golf course, and you need to be under par early, and I wasn't able to do that,” McIlroy said.

“I missed a couple of the short ones on one and three. But I knew I had some chances coming up; I birdied 4 and birdied 6. Had a couple of other chances on the front nine. Just to be over par on the front was tough because you can't really expect to pick up too many shots on the back nine because of how tough it is playing.

“Actually felt like I played okay on the back nine. Held it together quite well. I obviously had the bogey on 15, and actually had a decent chance on 16 to make birdie. It was one of those days that was a tough day. I just wish I had gotten off to a better start. Maybe it would have given me a little bit more of a cushion going into the back nine."

As for the broken club, McIlroy confirmed his frustration had got the better of him and added: “The club head came loose on it earlier on the week. I had to get the head re-glued. So it was probably partly to do with that and partly the throw as well. I'll get it reshafted tonight. The (equipment) truck's here, so I'll have it reshafted, and all will be well in the morning.”

Nevertheless, at level par McIlroy's race looks run with Mickelson left to vie with Henrik Stenson, just as they did at Muirfield in 2013 when the American won his first Open and fifth major. With a five-shot cushion ove rthe rest of the field, Bill Hass of the USA their nearest rival at six under.

Paired together on Saturday, Sweden's Stenson began his third round a shot back from Mickelson and they were duelling all the way round as if it was a matchplay event.

By the time they reached the clubhouse, it was Stenson who had emerged victorious in this game within the game, the majorless Swede shooting a 68 to get to 12 under par, to deny Mickelson the chance of a wire to wire win, the American's 70 moving him to 11 under with a minimum of 18 holes to play on Sunday.

It all left McIlroy accepting he was playing for pride and as high a finish as possible on the final leaderboard.

“Try to get off to a good start. I really don't know what the weather's going to be like, but try to get off to a good start again. And it looks like Henrik and Phil are sort of playing their own tournament right now. So go out and try to shoot a good score and try to finish as high as I possibly can.”