Rory McIlroy admits he needs to post a low third round to stay in contention at The Open after failing to make the most of a bright start at Royal Troon on Friday. The world No 4 finds himself eight strokes off midway pacesetter Phil Mickelson after posting a second-round 71 in tough conditions on the Ayrshire coast, where the afternoon starters struggled in wind and rain. Leaderboard The 145th Open McIlroy started brightly and temporarily moved within five strokes of the lead after back-to-back birdies from the sixth, only to card four bogeys in a six-hole stretch around the turn. Although the 2014 champion believes only a strong front nine on day three will keep him in contention, he refused to blame the Scottish weather for his mid-round stutter.I used to hate playing in conditions like that but I have found a way to get myself round the course and be as positive as possible, said McIlroy, who had targeted getting to five under by the close of play but fell three shots short. No one enjoys it but there is some sort of challenge to it. Get a Sky Sports Pass Dont miss The Open. Watch live on NOW TV today for £10.99. No contract. I made it a goal of mine to play better in these conditions and that was one of the better ones. Im trying to be as optimistic as I can and I can draw on memories of being in a similar position and having won, but this is a little different.Ive played a couple of good rounds but Im still eight shots behind. I need to get off to a fast start tomorrow [Saturday] and Im going to need something around 30 to get back up the leaderboard. A two-tee start was used for the first time in Open history in the third round at Hoylake in 2014 in anticipation of bad weather, which memorably arrived just as eventual winner McIlroy was giving his post-round press conference.Asked if he would like to see the same system implemented full time, McIlroy joked: I was probably saying that to myself on the 13th hole. Everyone had the spell where it was brutal and for us it was on 13. I hit a drive that I thought was 20 yards left of the fairway and I got up there and it was in the middle of the fairway just because it went about 230 [yards].But its one of the traditions of the Open and I respect that. The first group tees off at 6:30am and the last at 4:30pm and its the only tournament where we do that. Open on Sky Ways to watch The Open How will McIlroy fare over the weekend? Watch The Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports - your proud new home of The Open Also See: Mickelson staying calm The 145th Open: R2 recap Ways to watch The Open Golf live on Sky Sports Cheap Hydro Flask Near Me .C. - Brent Sutter scored 1:32 into extra time as the Charlotte Checkers came from behind to defeat the visiting Abbotsford Heat 5-4 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Hydro Flask Sale Near Me . Carcillo was a little of both for New York in Game 3. Derek Stepan, Martin St. Louis, Dan Girardi and Carcillo scored goals, leading the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. http://www.cheaphydroflaskireland.com/. -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Hydro Flask Ireland . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Ireland . Then Klay Thompson put his foot on the gas. Thompson scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points in his season debut to help the Golden State Warriors to a 106-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.Woodstock, Ont. – Team Canadas Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 67 at Craigowan Golf and Country Club to jump into the lead at the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday. Henderson opened her second round with a 3-under 32 and followed it with back-nine birdies on the par-5 13th and par-4 17th holes to grab the outright lead at 5-under 137. The 16-year-old has played near flawless golf since opening the tournament with an over-par front-nine on Tuesday. "It was a tough start yesterday being 3-over through eight holes but then I went 4-under the rest of the way which was really huge," said Henderson, the defending champion. "I had a couple of moments yesterday that really saved my round and I think that really saved my tournament. Going into today I knew I had momentum and I just wanted to keep that going." With that momentum the Smiths Falls, Ont. native currently sits one-stroke clear of her teammate Augusta James of Bath, Ont. and Liz Breen of Waynesboro, Pa., who share second place at 4-under 138 at the conclusion of Wednesdays windy second round. "It was much tougher today, we were here bright and early and it was quite a bit colder from past days so the ball wasnt quite flying as far," Henderson continued. "The wind also really picked up especially in the middle of my round, I was hitting ffour clubs more than what I normally do.dddddddddddd" James battled back during her closing nine, carding birdies on her final two holes to finish with an even-par 71. Breed held the outright lead for a short time on the back-nine before bogeying two of her last six holes to finish tied with James. Australias Su-Hyun Oh posted a 2-over 73 to finish in solo fourth at 2-under 140, while Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C. and Californias Betty Chen share fifth place at 1-under par. In the Inter-Provincial Team competition, the Team Ontario contingent of Henderson, James and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., soared away from the field to capture the team title. The squad fired a 5-under 137 to finish 15 strokes ahead of Team Alberta in the 36-hole competition at 10-under par. In the Mid-Amateur division (25+), Christina Proteau of Port Alberni, B.C. posted a 6-over 77 to card a two-round total of 153. Proteau currently sits three strokes ahead of Helene Chartrand of Pincourt, Que. In the Mid-Master division, Chartrand, the defending champion, fired a second round 1-under 70 and currently sits one-stroke ahead of Marion Reid of Etobicoke, Ont. at 11-over 153. The champion of the 101st Canadian Womens Amateur Championship receives an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Pacific Womens Open and also the 2014 U.S. Womens Amateur. ' ' '