McIlroy battles to share lead at 13-under ahead of DP World Tour Championship finale

Rory McIlroy moved one step closer to a seventh Race to Dubai title and a fourth DP World Tour Championship win after a gritty third-round 68 lifted him into a share of the lead at 13-under with Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

On a day when the leaderboard was packed and momentum swung constantly, McIlroy closed strongly at Jumeirah Golf Estates. After missing the fairway on the par-5 18th, the World No. 2 punched back to safety, hit his approach to eight feet and rolled in the putt for a closing birdie that pulled him level with the young Dane.

McIlroy’s round featured early birdies at the first and seventh, offset by a bogey at the third and a short miss on the second. But as he has done all year, he found another gear late, picking up three birdies in his final five holes to complete what he called a “battling day.”

Neergaard-Petersen matched McIlroy’s 68 with a steady card that included five birdies after an opening bogey. His run of gains on the back nine briefly gave him the outright lead before McIlroy’s closing burst set up a compelling final-round pairing.

The chase pack is stacked: 16 players sit within three shots of the lead, with six tied at 12-under. That group includes debutant Ángel Ayora, Rasmus Højgaard — who fired a bogey-free 65 — Laurie Canter, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who produced an eagle and five birdies in a 66.

McIlroy, coming off a 16-under week in Abu Dhabi and still chasing what could be the best season of his career, said patience was essential on greens he described as “crusty” and difficult to read.

“There are chances on the way in,” he said. “With my length, I knew I needed to take advantage of the two par 5s and the short par-4 15th — and that’s what I did.”

Fleetwood stayed in the hunt with a quiet but solid 68, while Ludvig Åberg, Justin Rose and Nicolai Højgaard are a further shot back at 11-under. Five more players, including Li Haotong, Thriston Lawrence and Shane Lowry, remain firmly in contention at 10-under.

With so many players within striking distance and McIlroy chasing another piece of European Tour history, Sunday promises one of the most dramatic finishes of the season.

Photo – DPWT

Story – V Krishnaswamy in Dubai