McIlroy still alive in Sydney despite mid-round collapse

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy suffered a spectacular two-hole meltdown in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday but he was not quite ready to give up on his title defence after windy conditions kept his rivals in check.

The world number one plummeted down the leaderboard when he dropped a combined five shots at the ninth and 10th holes but even a five-over-par 76 left him just six shots off the pace going into Sunday's final round.