Rory McIlroy leads by three in bid to win his third Dubai Desert Classic title
Rory McIlroy will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic after a late blunder gave the chasing pack renewed hope of preventing his third win in the event.
Starting the day two shots off the lead, McIlroy surged to the top of the leaderboard with birdies on the first four holes before his momentum stalled with eight straight pars.
The world number one then birdied the 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th as he threatened to leave the field trailing in his wake at Emirates Golf Club, only to hit his approach to the 18th into the water to run up his only bogey of the day.
How it stands with 18 holes to play đ #HeroDDC | #RolexSeries
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 29, 2023
The resulting 65 gave McIlroy a total of 15 under par, with Englandâs Callum Shinkwin and Dan Bradbury his nearest challengers on 12 under. Patrick Reed and Ian Poulter were part of a seven-strong group a shot further back.
McIlroy, whose bogey on the 18th was a carbon copy of the one in last yearâs final round which cost him a play-off place, said: âObviously I got off to a great start with those four birdies in a row, then hit a little bit of a lull after that.
âMade a really good par save on 11 that sort of kept my momentum going, and then kick-started again with obviously three nice birdies in a row on 13, 14 and 15.
âI felt like the good golf came in two bursts today, and then the rest of it was okay. I held it together. I still donât feel quite in control of my game. But today was much better than yesterday, so that was a positive.
âItâs nearly there. Itâs not quite there, but Iâm making the most of the good shots that Iâm hitting and putting well. Iâm playing really efficient golf right now with the chances Iâm giving myself. Iâm converting, and thatâs the reason Iâm on the score that I am.
"Tomorrow is a nice opportunity to do something that I've never done before." @McIlroyRory is looking to win his opening event of a calendar year for the first time. #HeroDDC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/cjcSLAi9U6
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 29, 2023
âIt would be great (to win). I love this golf course. I love this tournament, Iâve won here a couple of times. I donât think Iâve ever won in my first start of the year.
âI had plenty of chances at Abu Dhabi down the road over the years and never quite got it done so tomorrow is a nice opportunity to try to do something that Iâve never done before.â
Bradbury is seeking a second win of the season after claiming the Joburg Open in November on just his third start on the DP World Tour and will again play alongside McIlroy in the final round.
âIt was pretty cool, a very unique experience,â Bradbury said. âGot a few shouts of my name but they were mainly for Rory, which is to be expected. It was great having a lot of people out there.
âWhen you hear so many âRorysâ and then you just hear a random âDanâ in the middle of it, you canât help but smile. But itâs nice to know that there are people out there wishing me well.â
Reedâs third round of 69 included six birdies, a double bogey and a controversial incident on the par-four 17th when his tee shot on the driveable par four lodged in a palm tree.
The former Masters champion and rules officials used binoculars to identify the ball, allowing Reed to take a penalty drop near the base of the tree instead of having to return to the tee.
Reed, who is no stranger to rules issues, told the Telegraph: âI would have gone back to the tee if I wasnât 100 percent.
âI got lucky that we were able to look through the binoculars and you have to make sure itâs your ball and how I mark my golf balls is I always put an arrow on the end of my line.
âAnd you could definitely see and identify the line with the arrow on the end, and the rules official, luckily, was there to reconfirm and check it to make sure it was mine as well.â
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