DP World Tour Championship: McIlroy Ties For Third-Round Lead With Højgaard And Rozner In Dubai

Rory McIlroy is in a strong position to achieve a season-ending double victory after sharing the third-round lead with Rasmus Højgaard and Antoine Rozner at the DP World Tour Championship. McIlroy, ranked third globally, needs only a top-11 finish in Dubai to secure his sixth Race to Dubai Rankings title in partnership with Rolex. He is also aiming for his third win on the Earth course.

Højgaard surged ahead early, making four consecutive birdies starting from the second hole. This performance pushed him to 12 under par, three shots clear by the eighth hole. However, McIlroy responded with four birdies and one bogey over six holes from the seventh, joining Højgaard at the top of the leaderboard. Both players missed opportunities to take the lead and ended up tied as they finished their rounds with pars.

Rozner made an eagle on the last hole, creating a three-way tie at the top before the final round of the 2024 DP World Tour campaign. McIlroy began his day with a birdie on the second hole, while Højgaard joined him at nine under after three consecutive birdies by the fourth. The Dane took sole possession of the lead again with another birdie on the fifth.

Both McIlroy and Rozner bogeyed the fourth but recovered with birdies on the fifth, reducing Højgaard's lead to two shots. Højgaard extended his advantage to three shots after further gains on the seventh and eighth holes.

McIlroy narrowed his deficit to one shot with birdies on both the seventh and ninth holes. Rozner reached double digits under par by finishing his front nine with a birdie. McIlroy bogeyed the tenth but rebounded with consecutive birdies from the 11th, regaining his position at the top.

Neither McIlroy nor Højgaard could pull away from each other despite some tense moments. Højgaard managed to save par at 17th after a lucky putt found its way into the cup.

The 23-year-old then faced challenges on his final hole but managed a remarkable putt from 21 feet to maintain a clean scorecard and set a clubhouse target of 12 under par.

Competitive Field

McIlroy's second shot landed in rough near the green on his last hole, narrowly missing a birdie that would have given him a one-shot lead going into Sunday's final round at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Meanwhile, Rozner delivered an impressive approach within eight feet on par-five 18th for an eagle—the only one of that day—joining McIlroy and Højgaard atop leaderboards.

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had five birdies against two bogeys while Sweden’s Jesper Svensson played flawlessly for a score of 68; they sit fourth at ten under par. Englishman Tyrrell Hatton trails closely behind in sixth place by just one stroke.

Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin scored 67 alongside Japan’s Keita Nakajima who are both eight under par. Ryder Cup stars Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre join former World Number One Adam Scott along with England’s Matt Wallace tied at seven under par.

As anticipation builds towards Sunday’s conclusion of this thrilling tournament battle between these talented golfers continues unabatedly amidst high stakes competition!

With inputs from WAM