Rory McIlroy will start the final round on 14-under-par and six shots behind leader Aaron Rai
Rory McIlroy admitted he ran out of patience as he struggled to keep pace with the leaders at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Saturday.
McIlroy will start the final round on 14-under-par and six shots behind leader Aaron Rai.
Englishman Rai, looking for his third victory on the DP World Tour, holds a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Hojgaard.
Shane Lowry is a shot ahead of McIlroy on 15-under-par after holing a 14-foot putt on the last for a third round of 68.
Along with trying to get into contention in Abu Dhabi, McIlroy wants to extend his lead at the top of the Race to Dubai standings ahead of next week’s finale.
But the Masters Champion, who combined seven birdies with a single bogey in a third round of 66, admitted that he lost patience.
He said: “It seems like the last seven holes haven’t really given me much this week. I made bogey on 14 trying to go for the green but finished well.
“I gave myself some chances. And yeah, it sort of feels like a week that I left a few out there every day.
“Even today, I felt like today was the best that I played. After 11, it could have been a really good round, and stalled a little bit, and that’s the reason that I’m six back.”
He added: “You can keep your foot on the pedal, but then if it’s not quite happening, it’s hard to stay patient. That sort of got me today by going for the green on 14 and putting it in a bad spot and making bogey.
“Sometimes it is hard to stay patient when you’re seeing all the guys behind you, 5-under through nine, and sort of you’re trying to play catch up.
“It seems like to matter how well you play, they seem to keep making birdies.
“That’s the name of the game on this golf course. It sort of has been for the last few years.
“You’re going to have to shoot low scores to have a chance. I played okay but not quite good enough to get myself right into contention this week.”
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