Rory McIlroy hopes The Open Championship will return to Northern Ireland once again in the near future, hailing Royal Portrush as “one of the best two or three venues” that the tournament is staged at.

So, this was weird: Rory McIlroy, playing his second shot from the rough on the 11th at Royal Portrush in Round 3 of the British Open, somehow managed to unearth another ball in mid-swing. The second ball was apparently embedded in the ground a few inches ahead of McIlroy's ball, and popped into the air as McIlroy's shot flew greenward.