The Northern Ireland native picked up a ball from the thick rough, held it out in front of him and burst out laughing. While hitting a shot, he unearthed another ball.

Li Haotong is in contention to become the first man from China, a country of 1.4 billion people, to win a major golf championship. The No. 111-ranked Li will play in the final pairing at the British Open on Sunday with Scottie Scheffler,

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Rory McIlroy gave the home crowds exactly what they craved on Saturday: He used the traditional third-round “moving day’’ to make a move up the leaderboard. McIlroy, who began the day at 3-under par, seven shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler, activated the huge Portrush crowds with a third-round 5-under-par 66.

Rory McIlroy stared at his card behind the 18th green and smiled the smile of a golfer who knew he’d had a day to remember at the British Open.

SHOT OF THE DAY: John Parry made the first hole-in-one at this British Open, an 8-iron on the par-3 13th hole. SAVE OF THE DAY: Scheffler was buried in deep rough behind the 11th green when he chopped it out to 10 feet and made par.