Shane Lowry admitted his third round struggles were tough to stomach after his hopes of winning the Open suffered a blow at Royal Troon on Saturday.
The Irishman began the day with a two-stroke lead but ended three shots behind new pacesetter Billy Horschel after a disappointing six-over-par 77.
Lowry is still firmly in contention to claim the Claret Jug for a second time but his frustration after a round which began to unravel after a double bogey on the short par-three eighth – the Postage Stamp – was evident.
Lowry said: "Three back, you're still right in the tournament but this is going to take me a couple of hours to get over.
"It’s just hard because I felt like I played unbelievable golf. I missed the first fairway but then didn’t miss another fairway until 16.
"I hit some great iron shots but just didn’t hole the putts early on when I had the chances, and then I missed a few par putts.
"Obviously it was hard. I don’t really know what to say. It was a grind."
Lowry dropped five shots on the back nine, including a bogey on the last after hitting a shot into the stand, while he also lost his temper on the 11th after his ball struck a media commentator.
All this came as he and his rivals battled inclement weather and Lowry questioned the course set-up.
He said: "It’s not much fun out there. Honestly, it was brutal. You’d have to question why there wasn’t a couple of tees put forward, to be honest.
"Playing par threes hitting drivers is not much craic," Lowry added.
"I think 15 and 17 – 15 is 500 yards playing into that wind. They keep trying to make holes longer, yet the best hole in this course is about 100 yards.
Lowry hopes to return re-energised on Sunday.
He said: "I have a job to do tomorrow and a similar chance to win this tournament.
"There’s no doubt I’m going to go out there thinking I can win, but it’s just hard right now."
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