Rory McIlroy is one behind Tommy Fleetwood going into the final round of Dubai Invitational

Rory McIlroy started his third round with a two-shot lead. McIlroy played the third round of Dubai Invitational with Germany’s Yannik Paul. The Northern Irishman started his round with two opening pars and was unsuccessful in achieving a birdie at the short par four third hole. McIlroy made his first positive move in his third round as he got up and down for a birdie at the par five fourth hole. The par three fifth at Dubai Creek played 162 yards, McIlroy misjudged his tee shot which missed the green and failed to achieve a par.

McIlroy managed to escape six, seven and eight with pars. The Northern Irishman only had 108 yards for his second shot at the ninth which set up a good birdie opportunity which he unfortunately missed. McIlroy shot a front nine of 35. The four-time major winner had 230 yards for his second shot at the par five 10th hole which ended up short of the green. McIlroy hit a decent chip but didn’t take advantage of a good scoring opportunity as he had to settle for a par. “It was a bit of a slow start again”, said McIlroy.

McIlroy found the waste area at the 11th with his tee shot but managed to advance it onto the green and held a 45 foot birdie putt. The birdie at 11 gave McIlroy a pep in his step as he also rolled in a putt for birdie at the par four 12th hole. “Then I got things going on the back nine”, said McIlroy. The Northern Irishman trusted his wedge game as he didn’t take on the green with his second shot from 241 yards at the par five 13th and choose to lay up instead. A lay up was the right choice as McIlroy made three birdies in a row to reach 13 under.

Tommy Fleetwood was setting the pace on 15 under and McIlroy was two behind with four holes to play. The four-time major winner hit an excellent second shot from 120 yards at the 15th which ended up extremely close to the pin but was unsuccessful with his birdie effort. McIlroy found the green at the 173 yard par three 16th and rolled in a left to right putt to reach 14 under. “Shot 4-under on the back to try to keep up with Tommy”, said McIlroy. The 17th at Dubai Creek is a short par four and the Northern Irishman made a error as he missed the fairway with an iron. McIlroy played a good shot out of the bunker and managed to escape the 17th with a par.

McIlroy was extremely lucky that his second shot at the 18th ended up on grass and avoided rolling into the water. The four-time major winner tapped in a short-range par putt to shoot a third round of 67. “I feel like I've been playing pretty well this week”, said Down native. McIlroy is on 14 under and one behind his 2023 Ryder Cup teammate Fleetwood going into the final round. “Earned myself a tee time with him tomorrow, and it'll be good fun. I'm looking forward to it”, said McIlroy. It’s going to be an exciting final round between McIlroy and Fleetwood at Dubai Creek.