Rory McIlroy is determined to turn a year of near misses into a four-win season as he takes a share of the lead into the final round of the DP World Tour Championship.
The world number three produced a brilliant display at Jumeirah Golf Estates, making six birdies in a four-under 68 to share top spot with his Amgen Irish Open nemesis Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark and France’s Antoine Rozner on 12-under.
They lead by just two strokes from Sweden’s Jesper Svensson and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.
But McIlroy feels good about his chances of winning the tournament and his sixth Race to Dubai after a season they will be remembered for his near misses - especially the US Open - rather than the three wins he's racked up so far.
“Yeah, look, it's a great opportunity to end the year on a really high note,” McIlroy said on a day when his Holywood clubman Tom McKibbin surged into contention for the title and one of ten PGA Tour cards with a brilliant 67.
“Going to go out there tomorrow and give it everything I can and hopefully things fall my way and I'm able to stand on that 18th green with both trophies. I've been able to do it twice before.
“To do it again would be great. I've been really proud of my consistency, especially on this tour, the tournaments I haven't -- just European Tour events, Rolex Series Events, doesn't feel like I've finished outside the top five in many of them this year. It would be a great way to finish the year.
“I think walking away with four worldwide wins this year would be really nice. Yeah, I'd have to reflect on it, but it would definitely make the year feel nice.”
He won't have it all his own way, as Hojgaard showed when he made a 20-footer for par at the last for a 66 before Rozner joined them in the lead by making an eagle to McIlroy’s closing par for a battling 69.
Tyrrell Hatton snapped a wedge in anger in an ill-tempered 71 that left him alone in sixth, just three behind.
But Irish eyes were all on McIlroy, Shane Lowry and McKibbin (21), who made seven birdies in his 67 to surge into the mix for the title and his PGA Tour card.
Tied for seventh on eight-under, four shots behind the leaders, the Antrim star was projected to move up to 15th in the Race to Dubai and ninth in the battle for those 10 PGA Tour cards.
The Holywood star has made 78 birdies and two eagles in his last seven rounds and puts his form down to the hard work he did after finishing 43rd in the Andalucia Masters in Spain.
“I think sort of the hard work I put in on those two weeks off after Sotogrande, trying to get ready for these two events, and trying to dial in the numbers and be a little bit more aggressive,” said McKibbin, who notched his ninth top 10 of a great season in last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. “I think it's paid off quite nicely.”
As for thoughts of getting his PGA TOUR card, he revealed that he’s tried to focus on playing the last two events well and see how it all adds up at the end.
“I knew coming into these last two events that I would have to play really well to get one because the points are so stacked,” he said.
“There's a lot of points available. It's so easy for people to jump all over the place. So I think I was focusing on these two events, big events, and trying to do the best I could.”
As for winning the tournament, he said: “It'd be pretty cool. A tournament again, I've watched for many years on TV, and a lot of great, great, great winners of this tournament. So yeah, that'd be pretty cool. I've got to play very well to do that.”
It was a rollercoaster day for Lowry, who started the day just three shots behind Rozner but mixed four birdies with three bogeys in a 71 that left him tied for ninth, five shots off the lead on seven-under
He picked up an early shot at the second, but a three-putt bogey from 40 feet at the par-five seventh was a momentum stopper.
While he got a shot back at the 10th, he three-putted from 65 feet at the 13th and followed a birdie four at the 14th with a bogey at the 15th
But he still believes he’s playing well enough to win with a low final round and vowed to give his all.
“At the start of every week, I come into tournaments and all I want to do is give myself a chance going into Sunday,” Lowry said.
“I feel like I've done that this week, and it's up to me now and be free in my last round of the year and go play and see what it leaves.
“The way I'm playing, I'm driving the ball pretty good, and my irons feel great. I actually feel great on the greens, even though I had a couple of three putts today, but I just probably left myself too much to do on both of those putts.
“My whole game feels good, so there's definitely a low one in me. Will it happen tomorrow? Who knows, but I'll give him my best.“
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