Rory McIlroy hoping to go low in final round in Melbourne

Rory McIlroy feels he has what it takes to shoot a low final round at the Crown Australian Open but does not know whether that will be enough to trouble the leader.

The World Number Two finished his roller-coaster 68 with back-to-back birdies at Royal Melbourne on Saturday to reach five under par.

That leaves Northern Irishman McIlroy nine shots off the lead held by Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen heading into the final round and he suspects the gap may be too big to close with just 18 holes left to play.

He said: "With the lead at 13 under, I think I'll be a bit too far back.

"I think if everything comes together for me, I can shoot a pretty low one out there.

"But whether that's good enough or not, I'm not sure."

McIlroy got off to a disappointing start, making a double bogey on the second hole after finding his ball up against a banana skin.

He bounced back with a birdie at the third but dropped another shot on the par-three seventh.

His round then burst into life from the ninth as he birdied five of the final ten holes to sign for a second straight 68.

McIlroy added: "If I think back over the last three days, just like anyone else in this tournament, they'll tell you that they should be a lot better or a lot lower than they are.

"But I'll go out there and try my best tomorrow and try to shoot a low one and see where it leaves me."