DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy came off a rough afternoon at the DP World Tour Championship on Saturday, making three birdies in his final five holes to shoot a 4-under 68, share the lead with Denmark’s Rasmus Nirgaard-Petersen and move closer to winning the Race to Dubai for the fourth time in a row.
The final hour at Jumeirah Golf Estates saw eight players vying for the lead at one point. Nikolai Hujgaard started the third round in the lead, with his twin brother Rasmus also becoming one of the leaders by the afternoon.
At the end of the third round, McIlroy and Neilgaard Peterson (68) were at 13-under 203, one stroke ahead of Tyrrell Hatton and five other players.
Hatton is the only player with a mathematical chance of catching McIlroy in the race to Dubai, but that would require the Masters champion to fall on the Earth Course, where McIlroy is the defending champion and holds three titles.
“It would be a great way to end the season,” McIlroy said. McIlroy is looking to consolidate his position at the top after coming off a tie for third in Abu Dhabi last week. “I played well last week when I needed to, especially on the weekend. It put me in a position to get another win here. So I’m really happy.”
Marco Penge (GBR), who finished second in the race to Dubai, opened with a 74 but had little action after that. He shot a 68 on Saturday and is still only nine behind. Hatton was the next challenger and remained in the chasing pack with 67 points.
Hatton would have to win to force McIlroy to finish outside the top eight, but with so many players at the top, it’s not unreasonable for that to happen.
“Today’s round gave me a chance,” Hatton said.
There’s a lot at stake for Neergaard-Petersen as well. After a bogey at the start, he posted a 68 to keep a clean card and earn a spot in the final group for the season finale, playing alongside McIlroy for the first time. A strong performance could be enough for the Dane to earn one of the top 10 spots for tour players to earn a 2026 PGA Tour card.
“We had a big goal this year to see if we could win here, and if we could do it tomorrow and get over the line, that would be incredible,” he said.
The group with a one-stroke difference includes Rasmus Huygaard (65), Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Tommy Fleetwood (68), Rory Canter (68), and Angel Ayola (Spain), who hit a final bogey of 67.
Nikolaj Hejgaard fell back to 73, tied with Justin Rose (70) and Ludwig Oberg (67), just two shots behind.
McIlroy will be closing in on Colin Montgomerie’s record and will aim to win his seventh title as Europe’s number one as the European Tour season approaches its final stages. It’s already been a banner year for McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam at Augusta National, won The Players Championship and Pebble Beach, won the Irish Open and led Europe to victory in the Ryder Cup.
“Certainly, I could have spent the last few weeks coasting and enjoying myself,” McIlroy said. “But the Race to Dubai is important to me and trying to get as close to Monty as possible is important to me. Like I said, I’ve put myself in a great position to achieve it tomorrow.”
