At 11 under par McIlroy would normally expect to be firmly in contention, but that was only good enough for a tie for 31st as the players continued to take full advantage of the lack of wind on a rain-softened course.

The four-time major winner will at least have a relatively early tee-time on Sunday before heading to his native Northern Ireland for the Open at Royal Portrush and joked: "The thing I'm happy about is that Belfast City (airport) closes at 9pm tomorrow night so I should get in before they close.

"I feel like I played better than the score suggests and that's been the story of the week.

"I heard a camera click over my second shot on 11 but I was more frustrated that I didn't back off, missed the green and made bogey and I let that bother me on 12 as well.

"The game is right there, I just need to go out tomorrow and shoot a good score and finish on a positive note."

McIlroy had not played since seeing his US Open challenge fizzle out with a disappointing final round at Pebble Beach and opted not to compete in last week's Irish Open, a tournament he had hosted for the previous four years.

"All I wanted to do was get a scorecard in my hand," the 30-year-old added. "It didn't matter if the winning score was 20 under or 10 under, I just wanted to play four rounds of competitive golf and I'm going to do that.

"I'll at least have a better idea of where my game is at going into next week, instead of having a week or a few weeks off and trying to figure it out once I get there.

"Maybe I would have wanted to have been a little bit sharper around the greens and do a little more practice, but overall I feel like my game is in really good shape."