POLE POSITION
Rory leads the field as he bids for breakthrough win in Abu Dhabi
RORY McILROY fired a 67 to return to the top of the leaderboard after day three of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The four-time major winner has not tasted victory for almost 15 months but showed glimpses of his best form as he moved to 13 under at an event where he has finished second four times.
McIlroy’s nearest challenger is Englishman and second round leader Tyrrell Hatton, who is 12 under after a 71.
Ryder Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood was then at 11 under, a shot clear of Scot Marc Warren and American David Lipsky.
With those four runner-up finishes and three thirds at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, McIlroy will be the favourite heading into the final 18 holes, but he was refusing to take anything for granted.
‘I can’t go into tomorrow thinking it’s my turn,’ he said. ‘I want to make it my turn. I have to go out there and continue to hit the ball like I hit it on the back nine tonight. If I can do that and give myself plenty of chances, I’ll have a real chance.’
McIlroy, the world No6, was five shots off overnight leader Hatton and finished his second round on par early yesterday before he clawed his way back into the lead in the third.
The 31-year-old had five birdies and a stunning eagle on the 10th when his shot from 73 yards landed on the green and rolled straight into the cup.
‘It’s so blustery and it’s a different type of golf than we’re used to playing here in Abu Dhabi, where there’s usually not much wind. You feel like you have a chance on every hole,’ McIlroy said.
‘There’s like a little more scrambling involved and longer putts. So I thought I did well today. Obviously had that big stroke of luck on 10, the ball hitting the pin and going in.
‘Apart from that, I played well. I drove it much better on the back nine, and I hit it much better on the back nine, so I was really encouraged with that.’
Hatton started the third round three shots ahead of McIlroy but turned in 37 before taking advantage of the par-five 10th and holing from 40 feet on the 17th.
‘I was trying my best and obviously one of them days where I didn’t really feel like anything went my way,’ he said. ‘So I guess you’re always going to have days like that and you just try and get through it and the good thing is that I’m still in contention going into the final round. Will be obviously one shot back which isn’t ideal, but a lot can happen in 18 holes.’
Fleetwood is a two-time winner of this event, but his chances of a hattrick looked slim when he was three over after 11 holes on Thursday.
He has dropped just one shot since, however, and a second consecutive 67 put him right in the mix.
‘When you’re out there, you keep hitting golf shots and doing whatever you need to do and don’t really think that much about it whether you’re playing that well,’ he said. ‘Really good round of golf. Just happy to be in contention again.’
Pádraig Harrington shot a 75 yesterday and is second-last on two over. Shane Lowry (one over) and Graeme McDowell (level par) both missed the cut after resuming their rounds yesterday morning.