The stage is set for a Sunday showdown at the DP World Tour Championship.
The overnight leader, Andy Sullivan, managed to keep his lead by the narrowest of margins thanks to a 20-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole. That got him in with a 68 and a total of 16-under par after he failed to birdie the 18th.
Right on his heels is Europe’s best player — Rory McIlroy. McIlroy made up ground on Sullivan with a seven-under par 65 that could have been better. McIlroy failed to birdie the reachable par five 18th and settled for par, as did Sullivan.
On Sunday, the two will play together. McIlroy stands a great chance of winning the overall Race To Dubai as he’s now four shots in front of his nearest competitor — Danny Willett. Willett shot a fine 67 but that still left him at 11-under and four in back of McIlroy.
While McIlroy seemed to be stuck in neutral the first two rounds with 68s, he got it into a higher gear early in his round with four front nine birdies. Rory’s only bogey came at the par four 12th when an errant tee shot left him with a second that came up short of the green. He failed to get up-and-down and that was the only blemish on his card.
McIlroy bounced back with three straight birdies but failed to get any over the last three holes of the day.
American Patrick Reed’s 68 put him in solo third and he’ll start the final 18 three back of the leader.
