McIlroy makes mark in Dubai
RORY McLLROY landed a stunning 69-foot birdie on his way to a seven-under round at the DP World World Tour Championship in Dubai yesterday.
Mcllroy produced the brilliant shot on the 12th hole during a late surge up the leadership ahead of today’s final round but is still eight shots behind leader Matt Wallace, who carded the round of a lifetime to lead the race for the bigprize in Dubai on 16 under.
The story of the Englishman’s extraordinary loop could be told in two parts — the steady progress of going three under through his opening nine and then the sort of inward journey that broke records and defied belief.
With birdies on every single one of those closing nine holes, he made it in for just 27 strokes and signed for a 60 that left him 16 under par for the tournament and one clear of Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland.
The 33-year-old became the first man in DP World Tour history to clean sweep an entire half of the card, and the nine straight birdies also levelled the record set by James Nitties of Australia in the 2019 Vic Open. It might have even dipped into a 59 had his bunker shot at the last dropped below ground instead of burning the edge of the hole.
‘What an amazing day,’ Wallace said. ‘At the end, I didn’t even think it was for a 59, honestly. I’m kind of gutted.’
One of the sport’s more temperamental talents, this was a bogey-free round that showcased the best of Wallace. His day could best be summarised by the quality of his iron play on the final seven holes — not one of those shots left him with a putt beyond six feet.
For Wallace, it is shaping into a fine finale to the season, having nearly lost his DP World Tour card in the summer after ploughing most of his efforts into the PGA Tour. Indeed, his qualification was only secured with a big final round last weekend in South Africa. Fleetwood is well placed after a second successive 66, while Jon Rahm is five off on 11 under.
Shane Lowry is off the pace on six under, two shots behind fellow Irishman McIlroy.