MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rory McIlroy survived a bizarre encounter with a banana peel lodged in a tree to shoot a 3-under 68 on Saturday at the Crown Australian Open.

His round left him nine strokes behind leader, Danish player Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who made birdie putts on the 17th and 18th for a 66 and a 54-hole total of 14-under 199.

Cam Smith, the 2022 Open Champion who ended his streak of missing seven consecutive cuts this year on Friday, also shot 66 Saturday and was tied for second, two strokes off the lead.

On the par-4 second hole, McIlroy missed the fairway and his ball ended up under a small tree and under a banana peel, which had apparently been thrown away by a spectator.

Golfers are allowed to move loose impediments as long as the player’s ball doesn’t move in the process. If the ball had shifted as a result of trying to move a loose item, the player incurs a penalty.

So McIlroy tried in vain to hit his ball through the banana peel and the branches and back onto the fairway. But it only traveled about 30 feet and he ended up making a double bogey six.

“It was sort of a double whammy — it was in the tough grass, and under a banana skin,” McIlroy said. “But I shouldn't have been there in the first place.”

The Northern Irishman made birdie on the next hole and, after another bogey and birdie to complete the front nine, shot a 1-over 35.

On the back nine which was played in often steady drizzle, McIlroy had four birdies, including on the final two holes as he had done on Friday, when he also shot 68.

"I didn’t get off to a great start, but I played well from there,” said McIlroy, who made five birdies on his final 10 holes Saturday.

“I am probably going to be too far behind to challenge tomorrow,” he added. “But I’d love the course to keep getting firmer and firmer . . . and if it does I think I could go out there and shoot something very low, 8 or 9 under.”

After all his missed cuts, Smith, with a bit of an edge to his comments, said that it was "nice being in contention.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve had this feeling to be honest," Smith said. “I love that it’s the Australian Open. I couldn’t think of a better place to get back into form. It would shut a few people up."

McIlroy, whose pre-tournament news conference included comments that Royal Melbourne was not the best sandbelt course in the city, had a wild opening round on Thursday, containing six bogeys and five birdies.

McIlroy, the Race to Dubai winner and who completed his career Grand Slam when he won the Masters this year, is making his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015. He won it in 2013.

The winner of the Australian Open, which is the second event on the DP World Tour's new schedule of tournaments for late this year and 2026, receives a Masters exemption next year. And the top three finishers not already exempt will qualify for The Open in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.