Rory McIlroy is 13 under par at the DP World Championship in Dubai
Rory McIlroy is currently tied for the lead at the DP World Championship following Saturday’s third round in Dubai.
The Northern Irish star remains in the hunt for a seventh Race to Dubai title – which would leave him just one behind Colin Montgomerie’s record – after a solid showing on moving day.
Despite opening with a birdie, McIlroy endured some early setbacks before collecting three crucial shots across the closing five holes with birdies at the 14th, 15th and 18th.
That moved him to 13 under par, level with Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who also posted a four-under round, and one shot ahead of a group of six players, including Tyrrell Hatton.
Should McIlroy get the job done on Sunday, he will walk away with a $3 million cheque for winning the event.
McIlroy said on Sky Sports: “I got off to a good start, I hit two great shots into the first, two great shots into the second. I missed a two-and-a-half, three-footer on two, three-putted that, and I feel after that I sort of let that affect me a little bit, especially on the greens, for the next few holes.
“But I stayed really patient, gave myself plenty of opportunities, didn’t hole that much but I knew there was a few chances coming in and it was nice to take advantage of those. Overall, a bit of battling day, the conditions were tricky enough, but happy to shoot the score that I did.”
Hatton, who shot a second straight 67, is just about in contention for the Race to Dubai but he would need to win on Sunday and hope McIlroy tumbles out of the top eight.
McIlroy appears unlikely to lose too much sleep, saying: “I’m in a better position than him. I’m focused on myself. If I go out and play the golf that I know I’m capable of, especially around this golf course, I know that I’ll be OK.
“It would be an amazing way to end the season. I’ve put myself in position to try to get another win here. I certainly could have coasted into these couple of weeks and enjoyed myself but the Race to Dubai is important to me and it’s important to me to try to get a little bit closer to Monty.”
Hatton is one of four English players in the tie for third along with Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Laurie Canter.
Rasmus Hojgaard shot a seven-under-par round of 65 to join them, overtaking his brother Nicolai, who was the overnight leader but is now two shots adrift following a disappointing 73.
Ryder Cup stars Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg are also on 11 under on a stacked leaderboard.
Shane Lowry sits three strokes off the lead on 10-under in a tie for 12th place.
#Rory #McIlroy #shares #lead #Dubai #chases #2.4m #prize #seventh #title
