Rory McIlroy targets strong finish after making Dunhill Links cut

Rory McIlroy is focused on making a strong finish to his 2017 campaign after narrowly making the cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The world No 6, making his final scheduled appearance before shutting down for the rest of the year, posted a third-round 68 at Kingsbarns to progress on the 54-hole cut mark of four-under.

Mcllroy, beginning on the back nine, birdied three of his first five holes before cancelling out a blemish at the short 15th by posting a three at the par-four 17th.

The Northern Irishman, reaching the turn in 33, bounced back from a double-bogey at the par-three second to birdie his next four holes but missed from 10 feet to save par at the last.

"It was a bit of an up-and-down day," McIlroy said. "There were glimpses of good golf out there, and I played well for the most part. I made a few mistakes but I did enough to play tomorrow, so that's the main thing.

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"I'm glad to play one more round and get one more round around St. Andrews before I call it a season and get ready for next year."

McIlroy has been playing alongside father Gerry during the first three days, although the pair failed to finish inside the top-20 and ties to progress in the Pro-Am contest.

"It would have been nice to have my dad alongside me and play the final round, but we needed to do something special on the back nine," McIlroy added. "We made a run at it but too little, too late at the end.

"The Dunhill is always a really enjoyable week. It was great to play not just three rounds, but obviously the practice rounds, with my dad and stroll around.

"We knew we needed to do something special coming in and he made a birdie, net eagle, on seven to sort of maybe give us a chance."

Watch the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Golf