NEARLY MAN MCILROY SENSING DUNES OF GLORY AT LAST
FORMER world No.1 Rory Mcilroy fired a 67 to sit at the top of a leaderboard dominated by Britons 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 position as Britain’s top player has come under threat in recent months as he has fallen to world No.6, with Tyrrell Hatton moving into the top 10, and the Englishman was the nearest challenger at 12 under after a 71.
Another English hero, Tommy Fleetwood, is at 11 under, a shot clear of Scot Marc Warren and American David Lipsky. With those four runner-up finishes and three thirds here Mcilroy is favourite heading into today’s final 18 holes, but said: “I can’t go into tomorrow thinking it’s my turn.
“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.”
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.
He said: “I was trying my best but it was a day where I didn’t really feel like anything went my way.
“You’ve just got to try and get through it and the good thing is that I’m still in contention going into the final round.
‘‘I know I am one shot back, which obviously isn’t ideal, but a lot can happen in 18 holes.”