The Open Championship isn't over. McIlroy and everyone else in contention have to believe they have a chance. But they're chasing a guy who's almost impossible to catch.

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Rory McIlroy picked up the ball from the thick rough, held it out in front of him and burst out laughing. It was one of the most baffling things to have happened to him on a golf course.

How to watch every single shot from the biggest names in golf throughout Round 2 at the 2025 Open Championship

The hometown hero is back at Royal Portrush, but Rory McIlroy was poor off the tee again as the Open Championship rolls on.

Rory McIlroy's third-round charge at The Open Championship was derailed in bizarre fashion on Saturday when he unwittingly performed a trick shot at the 11th hole. With one swish of his club, McIlroy not only hit his designated ball out of the rough to the right of the fairway but also dug out another ball that had been buried underneath the turf.

Rory McIlroy’s third-round charge at the British Open has been derailed in bizarre fashion after he unwittingly performed a trick shot at the 11th hole

It was ugly at times and he barely located a fairway but Rory McIlroy's homecoming party at Royal Portrush this time did not go as flat as a pint of stale Guinness as he scrambled to an opening-round 70 at the British Open on Thursday.

How to watch every single shot from the biggest names in golf throughout Round 1 at the 2025 Open Championship