Rory McIlroy Shares Joint Top Spot As He Nears DP World Tour Title
The Northern Irish golfer hit five birdies in his Saturday performance
Season Finale Third-Round Leaderboard
-13 R McIlroy (NI), R Neergaard-Petersen (Denmark); -12 A Ayora (Spain), L Canter (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), T Fleetwood (Eng), T Hatton (England), R Hojgaard (Den)
Selected others: -11 L Aberg (Sweden), N Hojgaard (Denmark), J Rose (England); -10 S Lowry (Ireland), R MacIntyre (Sco); -8 J Parry (Eng); -4 M Penge (Eng)
The world-class golfer secured three under-par scores in the final five holes to claim the joint lead at the tournament finale and close in on his seventh season-ending tour championship title.
The Northern Irishman recorded a 68 in Dubai, in a performance including five birdies with one bogey to move to 13-under-par, along with Danish golfer Neergaard-Petersen.
England's Canter (68), Fitzpatrick (66), Fleetwood (68) along with Tyrrell Hatton (67) are on 12-under-par, along with Spain's Ayora (67) and Danish competitor Hojgaard (65).
"All in all, a bit of a battling day," said the golfer. "The conditions proved difficult but pleased to shoot the score that I did."
The 36-year-old has a 767-point lead at the top of the season-long rankings as he pursues his fourth straight Race to Dubai title.
Tyrrell Hatton along with compatriot Marco Penge are the sole players who can stop McIlroy from winning the season-long title.
Hatton needs to win the tournament and have his rival finish worse than the top eight to secure the title.
"I'm in a better position compared to him [Hatton]," added McIlroy. "I'm focused on myself. If I go out and perform at the level that I'm capable of, especially around this layout, I know that I'll be OK.
"That would represent a fantastic manner to end the season."
Marco Penge shot a better 68 in round three following rounds of 74 and 70, but looks out of contention at four-under-par.
