Golf:Rory McIlroy is hot on the heels of overnight leader Martin Kaymer with the pair set to do battle alongside Ian Poulter in the final group in tomorrow's final round of the €1.5million Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
By coincidence all three leading contenders fired third round 67s in the desert with Kaymer holding a one-shot lead on 15-under from McIlroy and Poulter, who share second.
Kaymer, who won the event in 2008 and was runner-up in 2009, made light work of the front nine of the National Course with five birdies to open up a brief two-stroke lead before blotting his card with a bogey to slip back to 14-under-par midway through his back nine.
McIlroy is aiming to secure a second tour win after his maiden victory in last year’s Dubai Desert Classic and is in prime position to challenge in tomorrow’s final round.
Irish Open champion Shane Lowry is also well-placed after a third round 71 left the Clara golfer three off the pace on 12-under.
Peter Lawrie made some progress with today’s 70 to get to four-under, one better than Darren Clarke (71).
Kaymer admits he feels at home at Abu Dhabi Golf Club following his wire-to-wire victory in 2008 with the National Course baring similarities to his practice course in Arizona.
“I really like the course in general,” said Kaymer. “Especially after coming off a six week break in America, you arrive really motivated and I couldn’t wait to play golf.”
At 25, Kaymer is a genuine contender for a Ryder Cup debut in Wales, a fact which was underlined by an enquiry from captain Colin Montgomerie last night over the status of the German’s foot which was injured last year in a go-karting accident.
“Two years ago I was leading by six shots, but I was very nervous, but it still felt really special. But on Sunday I played really shy and didn’t go for the flags and I left a lot of putts short, my self confidence wasn’t there,” added Kaymer, who will play the entire season with the plates and screws in his foot following the high speed crash.
“This has changed after four wins on the European Tour and winning big events last year in France and at Loch Lomond that attitude has definitely changed.”
McIlroy admits to being surprised by the scoring this week given the increased rough and new rules regarding grooves and he will need to pull another storming final round out of the bag following low scoring final days on his last three outings last season in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dubai which all led to top five finishes.
“I didn’t make many mistakes and I have put myself in a great position. It should be a good battle and it looks as if we are all playing very well so it should be an interesting day,” said McIlroy.
“There is no reason why I couldn’t go low in the final round. I didn’t think anything in the 20s would win, but obviously everyone has played well in the first tournament of the season. I would say 20 under is a very good target.”
For Poulter, who set the first round pace with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65, it is easy to draw comparisons to his victory in Singapore in November when he returned from a similar break to end a two year winless streak.
“Sometimes in a busy stretch you feel tired, but I feel wide awake, I feel really good,” said the world number 12.
“I feel strong and I’m in a nice position so obviously the adrenaline is there. I drove it pretty solid, hit my irons very nicely. I managed to have a good look at a few putts, a few slid by, but a few went in.”
Collated third round scores and totals in the European Tour The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):
201Martin Kaymer (Ger) 67 67 67
202 Rory McIlroy 66 69 67, Ian Poulter 65 70 67
203Peter Hanson (Swe) 66 67 70
204Chris Wood 70 64 70, Shane Lowry 68 65 71, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 66 70 68
205Rick Kulacz (Aus) 69 63 73
206Jamie Donaldson 70 69 67, Rhys Davies 66 68 72, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 67 71 68, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 69 66 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 70 67
207Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 67 70, Anders Hansen (Den) 69 70 68, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 66 67 74, Soren Hansen (Den) 72 67 68, Richard Green (Aus) 70 65 72, Ross McGowan 69 71 67
208Francesco Molinari (Ita) 68 68 72, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 67 70 71, Anthony Kim (US) 70 70 68, Paul Lawrie 66 70 72, Camilo Villegas (Col) 71 68 69
209Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 66 70 73, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 70 67 72, Paul Waring 68 70 71, David Horsey 73 66 70, Ariel Canete (Arg) 70 65 74, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 72 69 68
210Richard Bland 65 74 71, Gary Orr 69 71 70, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 71 67 72, Marc Warren 69 69 72, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71 69 70, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 70 72 68, Paul Casey 72 69 69
211Steve Webster 68 69 74, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 69 71, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 70 72 69, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 68 69
212Alexander Noren (Swe) 66 74 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 67 75 70, Mark Foster 68 70 74, Peter Lawrie 71 71 70, Johan Edfors (Swe) 70 69 73
213Anthony Wall 71 68 74, Brett Rumford (Aus) 71 69 73, Nick Dougherty 71 68 74, Phillip Price 72 70 71, Tano Goya (Arg) 71 70 72, Darren Clarke 70 72 71, Bradley Dredge 68 73 72
214Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 72 72, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 73 69 72, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 68 74 72, Richard Finch 69 68 77, Simon Dyson 72 67 75, James Kamte (Rsa) 72 68 74, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 74 68 72
215Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 71 73, Colin Montgomerie 73 68 74, Todd Hamilton (US) 68 74 73, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 72 70 73, Paul Broadhurst 71 70 74, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 73 69 73, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 70 73, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 73 69 73, Keith Horne (Rsa) 65 72 78
216David Dixon 71 69 76, David Howell 69 72 75
217Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 74 68 75
219Metteo Manassero (Ita) 70 72 77
RTD: Stephen Dodd 66 73