(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Rory McIlroy took a major step towards his seventh Race to Dubai crown when he moved into a share of the lead following the third round of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Saturday (November 15).

The Northern Irishman - who earlier this year became the first European to complete a Career Grand Slam after winning the Masters at Augusta in April - carded a four-under-par 68 on the Earth course to move alongside Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen who also posted a 68 for a 13 under par total of 203.

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McIlroy - who won both this DP World Tour Championship title and the Race to Dubai 12 months ago - got off to a slow start, dropping a shot at the short fourth and was still level par for his day through six holes.

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Finding momentum

But the 36-year-old found momentum late in the round, birdie putts dropping at the 14th and 15th before he rolled in a nine foot effort for another closing birdie four on the 18th green.

“I stayed really patient out there and gave myself plenty of opportunities,” said McIlroy.

“Didn't hole that much but I knew there was a few chances coming in. It was nice to take advantage of those on 14, 15, and 18. So overall, a bit of a battling day. The conditions were tricky enough. But happy to shoot the score that I did.

“I'm really pleased. I certainly could have coasted into these couple of weeks and enjoyed myself but The Race to Dubai is important to me, and it's important to me to try to get a little bit closer to Monty. I've put myself in a great position to go and do that tomorrow.”

Neergaard-Petersen - who finished number one on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2024 - looked far from co-leader material when he bogeyed the opening hole after missing the green. But the 26-year-old rallied and made no further mistakes in his quest for his maiden DP World Tour title.

“I am super, super pleased,” said Neergaard-Petersen.

“As I did yesterday, I managed to stay really patient even after not getting off to the best of starts. But from there I felt like I hit a lot of good shots and gave myself a lot of chances. So I'm really pleased.

“I'm so excited and I can't wait for tomorrow. I haven't played with Rory yet and so to do it here in the final group on a Sunday is going to be pretty special. I've had a big goal this year to see if I could win out here, and obviously if I were to do it tomorrow and get it over the line, that would be incredible.”

The scene is set for a thrilling final day with a tightly packed leaderboard featuring no less than 14 players within three shots of the two pacesetters.

12-under-par 204

Immediately behind the duo is a chasing pack of six players on 12-under-par 204 – Ryder Cup men Rasmus Højgaard, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood alongside Angel Ayora and Laurie Canter.

Best of that particular pack was Dane Højgaard whose flawless 65 saw him move from outside the top 15 at the start of the day into the tie for third place. The 24-year-old shared the lead going into the final round of this tournament last year before finishing second to McIlroy. He will be hoping that history does not repeat itself.

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