ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — For the record, Friday's wind-whipped 80 didn't change Rory McIlroy's feelings for the Old Course.

"I like it a lot more when there's not much wind," the 21-year-old pro said Saturday. "But it's a fantastic golf course. It's the best. You have to play every sort of (shot), and I was able to play most of them (Saturday)."

The third round brought milder weather and a 69 for McIlroy — meaning he still hasn't posted a competitive round in the 70s on the Old Course. That moved him to 4-under 212 on the week, 11 shots behind Louis Oosthuizen but tied for 12th.

And his round could have been even better. The Northern Ireland pro had a 68 or 67 in his sights before a double bogey at the Road Hole 17th, where a gust pushed his approach shot onto the path behind the green.

"I'm not going to let one round of golf really get me down," McIlroy said. "I really struggled (Friday), but I think playing in such a strong wind made (Saturday) feel not as bad – even though the wind was still quite strong."

Double trouble: Already struggling to begin his round, Mark Calcavecchia saw his bid to claim another Open crown 21 years after the first come undone with a two-penalty quadruple-bogey 9 at St. Andrews' fifth hole.

Calcavecchia wound up being assessed a penalty stroke for the lost ball, plus another for picking up his provisional without authority.

"It was unfortunate for Calc there," said Oosthuizen, his playing partner. "He had a tough few holes."

Calcavecchia made the turn in 7-over 43, but recovered a few shots on the back to finish with a 77.

Not the putter: Tiger Woods needed 35 putts to complete Saturday's 1-over 73, including a trio of three-putt greens. For the week, he's averaging a grim 33 putts per round.

Asked if his new putter that made its debut this week had anything to do with it, Woods said no.

"I just need to have better speed," he said.

The ironic thing is that Woods made the switch — benching the Scotty Cameron model he had used for 11 years — because it provided better speed on slow greens.