Cameron Smith's chances of firing himself into final-round contention to successfully defend his British Open title evaporated during a frustrating hit-and-miss third round at Royal Liverpool.

The Queenslander had begun Saturday still scenting an opportunity, however distant, to lift back-to-back titles as he hoped a low score on a damp third-round 'moving day' morning in Hoylake would put himself back in the title mix.

But while he did make his move into the red on Saturday, finishing at one under for the championship with a three-under round of 68, he still admitted to feeling a little frustrated that, in almost ideal scoring conditions, he didn't enjoy an even more striking run up the scoreboard.

Jon Rahm had shown what was possible on a damp morning with just light breezes to contend with, as he surged towards the top of the leaderboard, leaping from two over to six under with a brilliant 63.

For Smith, though, five birdies - two coming from 20 foot-plus putts - were offset by two bogeys and a couple of surprise short misses with his putting wand as he reached one-under for the championship before the leaders set out on Saturday afternoon.

"Yeah, still probably a little bit too far back. I'm sure I'll keep going down the leaderboard as the day goes on," shrugged Smith, and he was right as he ended the day in a 15-way tie for 24th place.

"For sure, it would have been nice to get a few more (birdies) and probably I am a little bit frustrated.

"But, all in all, it was a really solid day. There's not much to complain about."

Smith, the champion at the 150th edition at St Andrews, was glad to have made the weekend at all, after it required a wondrous six-iron approach from 232 yards to 16 inches from the pin on Friday for him just to make the cut.

Spurred by that escape, he began with birdie from six foot at the third, only for the world's best putter to cause some astonishment at the next when he slid a par putt past from three foot.

He missed another seven footer, this time for birdie at the fifth, before making a 22-foot birdie putt at the next and even more spectacular 25-footer from the fringe at the 11th.

When he finished less than five foot away with his tee-shot at the short 13th, he moved into the red for the first time since the opening morning on Thursday but he bogeyed the 16th after finding hay from the tee.

A birdie at the par-five final hole, though, ensured he would finish at one-under.