21 July 2012 14:11 GMT

Rory McIlroy admitted he was frustrated after recording a three over par 73 that ended his hopes of winning the Claret Jug for another year.

The 23 year-old World No. 2 will go into tomorrow’s final round on five over par 215 and too far behind the leaders to mount a serious challenge.

The Northern Irelander started his third round with a trio of pars but then dropped shots at the 4^th, 5^th and 8^th to go out in three over par 37. He shed another shot on the 12^th before securing his only birdie of the day with a three on the 336-yard par-4 16^th hole.

“I got off to a bad start and couldn’t really do much from there,” he said. “It’s a bit frustrating. I was up for it this morning trying to go out there and post a good score but after playing the front nine like I did you’re just trying to shoot the best score you can.

“I’m frustrated but that’s just the way it is. That’s golf. You just have to get on with it and keep practising and stay patient until it turns around.”

McIlroy has had little to cheer about in the Majors since capturing the US Open 13 months ago. He finished tied 25^th at last year’s Open and tied 64^th at the subsequent PGA Championship before claiming a share of 40^th place at this year’s Masters and missing the cut on his defence of the recent US Open at the Olympic Club.