Rory McIlroy’s British Open has been a win — even if he doesn’t hoist the trophy

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 began the day at 3-under par, seven shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler, and he activated the massive Portrush crowds with a third-round 5-under-par 66.

It was a positively electric day around Portrush, the place where McIlroy set the course record as a 16-year-old when he shot 61.

His third round got him to 8-under par. The problem was that, for all the work he did, it gained him only one shot on Scheffler, who is 14-under par and six shots ahead of McIlroy.