Rory McIlroy Shares Lead Heading into Final Round of DP World Tour Championship

Rory McIlroy previously secured victories at the DP World Tour Championship in 2012 and 2015. The third-round leaderboard for the DP World Tour Championship is detailed below: -12 A Rozner (Fra), R McIlroy (NI), R Hojgaard (Den); -10 J Svensson (Swe), J Niemann (Chi); -9 T Hatton (Eng); -8 T McKibbin (NI), K Nakajima (Jap); -7 A Scott (Aus), R MacIntyre (Sco), S Lowry (Ire), M Wallace (Eng) Selected others: -6 L Canter (Eng), P Waring (Eng); -4 S Bairstow (Eng), T Lawrence (SA); -2 T Fleetwood (Eng); -1 A Fitzpatrick (Eng); +1 J Rose (Eng) Full leaderboard Rory McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, is currently sharing the lead with Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard and France’s Antoine Rozner as the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai approaches its final round. The four-time major champion, aged 35, recorded a round of 68, four-under-par, at Jumeirah Golf Estates. This performance positions him to potentially secure his third victory at the European Tour’s season-ending event. Furthermore, McIlroy is poised to claim the top spot in the Race to Dubai rankings, which would mark his sixth time being recognized as the tour’s champion golfer. “My goal is to be on that 18th green with a chance to win two trophies instead of one,” McIlroy stated to Sky Sports. This comment followed his narrow miss of a birdie opportunity on the final hole, which would have given him the sole lead. The golfer, ranked third globally, has secured two victories on the PGA Tour during the current year and also won the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour in January. However, he did not manage to increase his count of major championships, experiencing his most significant setback at the US Open, where he placed second behind American Bryson DeChambeau. McIlroy further commented, “Tomorrow is going to be my last competitive round of the year so it would be an amazing way to finish off the year.” He described the year as “A year of a lot of close calls along with a lot of really good golf and some wins along the way.” He concluded by saying, “It is an opportunity to end the year on a really good note and I am going to go out there and try to get it done.” Hojgaard established an early lead by making six birdies within his initial eight holes, then concluded his round with ten consecutive pars, resulting in a six-under-par 66. McIlroy also achieved six birdies, but bogeys on the fourth and tenth holes hindered his advancement. Rozner secured an eagle with a putt on the par-five 18th, completing his day two-under-par and rejoining the leaders, despite having begun the round with a one-shot lead. Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Jesper Svensson of Sweden are two strokes behind the leaders, at 10 under par. England’s Tyrrell Hatton, aged 33, is also contending at nine under, having posted a round of 71. Hatton commenced the round one shot behind the lead but fell back after a bogey on the fourth hole. He recovered strokes on the fifth hole and the par-five 14th, where he broke a club in frustration after an errant approach shot, yet still managed to chip in for a birdie.