Lee Westwood played one of the rounds of the day, then admitted his form was not yet consistent enough for him to start winning tournaments again.

The 31-year-old from Worksop carded a three-under-par 68 to stand on two-under after three rounds of The Open at Royal Troon.

Westwood is a former European number one but his game fell apart when he took time off in 2001 after the birth of his first child, and he plummeted from a high of fourth in the rankings to outside the top 250.

However, he has returned to some kind of form of late, finishing second in the European Open in Ireland a fortnight ago and 10th in last week's Scottish Open.

Westwood said: "I played very well and hit the ball well today in difficult conditions.

"A 68 was as many as it could have been and if you'd offered me that at the start I would have taken it.

"I have played well the last three weeks and the signs were there that I was going to play well this week.

"I have played links golf well recently and I am not surprised to be a couple under par.

"The signs are there that I am on the way back. The consistency needs to come before the win comes but if I keep putting myself in the position and giving myself chances then sooner or later I'll make that step forward and hopefully win a tournament.

"I am just happy to be playing well and see the hard work that I have been doing paying off."

Westwood praised the course and said that, depending on tomorrow's conditions, a total score of five-under might be enough to win the Claret Jug.

He added: "The course was set up great.

"There were some difficult flags but you could get to them if you hit it in the right part of the fairway and then hit the right shot into the green - it's exactly what you expect from the third round of a Major, the greens are as good as I've ever seen on a links course and the rough is how it should be.

"We'll have to see how the weather is tomorrow but any Open course is tough and five-under might be a good enough score."