World No. 2 Rory McIlroy birdied four times on the back nine for his second straight round of 68 in Saturday's third round of the Australian Open.

The Northern Irishman is 5-under for the tournament at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, tied with four others in 24th place and nine shots behind leader Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark entering the final round.

McIlroy got off to a rough start with a double bogey at the par-4 second hole. He offset a birdie at No. 3 with a bogey at No 7 before finishing the front nine with another birdie.

After making the turn at 1-over for his round, McIlroy recorded birdies at the 12th, 14th, 17th and 18th holes to enter Sunday with some momentum after starting the day tied for 57th.

McIlroy is coming off a playoff loss at last month's DP World Championship

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