Rory McIlroy reveals 'bad habit' that needs fixing ahead of The Open

Rory McIlroy has admitted he must eliminate a costly "bad habit" from his game before The Open after identifying a flaw that threatened to derail his Genesis Scottish Open challenge.

The world No 2 looked on course to mount a serious title bid after opening with rounds of 65 and 66 at the Renaissance Club, sharing the lead during the opening stages of the tournament.

However, hopes of lifting the trophy faded after a disappointing third-round 73, leaving McIlroy with work to do heading into next week's final major of the year.

Although the Masters champion responded with a superb closing 64, featuring eight birdies, the Northern Irishman insists there is still plenty to address before arriving at Royal Birkdale.

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McIlroy believes he has now pinpointed the technical issue behind his inconsistent iron play and is determined to correct it over the coming days.

"I definitely hit it a little better today than I did in round three," he said.

"I noticed a few things in my game and my iron shots, especially this morning coming out for the back end of the third round.

"I went and tried to work on it on the range between rounds. At least I know what the problem is and it's just about fixing it."

McIlroy explained that windy conditions exposed a recurring weakness in his swing, causing him to miss too many approach shots to the left.

"It's been pretty windy this week, and then when the wind on the range is off the left, I just get into that bad habit of hitting it further left than the path at impact," he said.

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"I start hitting left with my iron shots. I still hit a few out there today but I managed it a little bit better, managed the clubface better and I holed a lot of putts."

The four-time major champion believes his improved work on the greens masked some of the problems elsewhere in his game during Sunday's impressive recovery.

"I putted really well today. That was the difference between 73 and 64," he added.

McIlroy briefly reignited his hopes of victory after racing out of the blocks with five birdies in his opening seven holes, moving within touching distance of the leaders before slipping back.

At one stage he even labelled himself "so bad at golf" after a poor approach shot led to a bogey on the 16th, although he recovered immediately with another birdie.

Despite finishing the week on a positive note, McIlroy says he is under no illusions about the work still required before teeing it up at The Open.

"It's nice to sign this week off with a good score but I know I need to do a bit of work between now and next Thursday to feel really comfortable with my game," he admitted.

"I don't feel like it's too far away. There's definitely some positive signs."

McIlroy hasn't won The Open since 2014. How he fares this time around is something only time will tell.

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