Rory McIlroy Shares Tied Top Spot As He Nears Dubai Championship
The Northern Irish golfer hit five under-par scores in his third round
DP World Tour Championship Saturday Leaderboard
-13 R McIlroy (NI), R Neergaard-Petersen (Den); -12 A Ayora (Spa), L Canter (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), T Fleetwood (England), T Hatton (England), R Hojgaard (Denmark)
Notable scores: -11 L Aberg (Swe), N Hojgaard (Den), J Rose (Eng); -10 S Lowry (Ire), R MacIntyre (Scotland); -8 J Parry (Eng); -4 M Penge (England)
Rory McIlroy secured three under-par scores in the final five holes to move into a share of the lead at the DP World Tour Championship edging closer to a seventh year-end tour championship title.
The Northern Irishman shot a 68 in the United Arab Emirates, in a performance featuring five birdies and a bogey to climb to 13 under, along with Danish golfer Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
English golfers Canter (68), Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Tommy Fleetwood (68) and Hatton (67) are on 12 under, together with Spain's Ayora (67) and Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard (65).
"All in all, a challenging round," said McIlroy. "The conditions were tricky enough but pleased with shooting my score."
McIlroy holds a substantial lead at the top of the annual standings as he pursues his fourth straight Race to Dubai title.
Tyrrell Hatton and fellow Englishman Penge are the only two capable of preventing McIlroy from claiming the annual championship.
The English golfer needs to win this event and have his rival to finish outside the top eight to win it.
"I'm in a better position than him [Hatton]," added the tournament leader. "My focus is on my game. If I go out and perform at the level I can achieve, especially around this layout, I'm confident that I'll succeed.
"It would be a fantastic manner to conclude the year."
Marco Penge shot an improved 68 in round three following rounds of 74 and 70, but looks out of contention at four-under-par.
