Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen made a late surge to card a five-under 66 and take the lead on day three at the Royal Melbourne on Saturday, while Rory McIlroy overcame a strange early setback to post a second consecutive 68 at the Australian Open.<\/p>\n
Having squeezed inside the cut thanks to late birdie spurt on Friday, McIlroy got off to a curious start on Saturday, double-bogeying the second hole after his ball bizarrely settled in a banana peel in a tuft of rough right of the fairway.<\/p>\n
Unable to remove the banana skin for fear of moving the ball and incurring a penalty, McIlroy could only advance his second shot 30 yards and wound up making a double-bogey to slip back to even par.<\/p>\n
Have you ever seen this before?! \ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy double bogeys the second hole after finding his ball next to a banana \ud83c\udf4c#AusOpenGolf<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/229POQPHct<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n “It was sort of a double whammy \u2014 it was in the tough grass, and under a banana skin,” McIlroy said afterwards. “But I shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”<\/p>\n McIlroy did respond with a birdie on the third, though gave it back with a dropped stroke at the short seventh hole.<\/p>\n He birdied the ninth to complete the front nine in a one-over par 35 and, as on Friday, he finished his round with a glut of birdies, registering four in the final six holes, including on 17 and 18, to post a three-under 68.<\/p>\n FULL LEADERBOARD<\/a><\/p>\n The Masters champion sits on five-under overall, nine adrift of the leader Neergaard-Petersen, heading into Sunday.<\/p>\n “I’ll probably be a little too far behind to try to challenge on Sunday but I will try to end the week on a positive note and shoot my lowest score,” McIlroy said.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy birdies the last to finish -5 ahead of the final round \ud83d\udcc8#AusOpenGolf<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/WOZZ2mLgSi<\/a><\/p>\n