DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy had a wild afternoon at the DP World Tour Championship on Saturday, birdieing three of his final five holes to shoot a 4-under 68 and share the lead with Denmark’s Rasmus Nilgaard Peterson on his way to a fourth straight Dubai victory.
In the final hour at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the two sides were leading in an eight-way tie. Nicolai Højgaard took the lead in the third round and his twin brother Rasmus became one of the leaders in the afternoon.
At the end of the third round, McIlroy and Neil Gaard-Petersen (68) shot 203, 13 under par, one shot ahead of Tyrrell Hatton and five other players.
Hatton is the only player with a mathematical chance of catching McIlroy at Dubai, although it would require the Masters champion to collapse on Earth, while McIlroy is the defending champion with three titles to his name.
“It’s going to be an amazing way to end the season,” said McIlroy, who tied for third in Abu Dhabi last week to solidify his top spot. “I played well last week when I needed to, especially on the weekend. I put myself in a good position to try to get another win here. So, yeah, I’m really happy.”
England’s Marco Penge finished second in the Battle of Dubai, opening with a 74 and has largely faded away since. He shot a 68 on Saturday and was still nine shots behind. Hatton was the next challenger and his 67 put him in the chase.
Hatton must win and keep McIlroy outside the top eight, although with so many players crowded at the top it’s not unreasonable for that to happen.
“Today’s game gave me a chance,” Hatton said.
Neergaard-Petersen also has a lot at stake. He carded a clean 68 after an opening bogey, earning him a spot in the final group of the season finale and playing alongside McIlroy for the first time. The outstanding results were enough for the Dane to break into the top 10 players on tour and earn a 2026 PGA Tour card.
“I have a big goal this year to see if I can win here and obviously if I could do that and cross the finish line tomorrow it would be incredible,” he said.
The group one shot behind included Rasmus Højgaard (65), Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Tommy Fleetwood (68), Laurie Canter (68) and Spain’s Angel Ayora, who bogeyed the final hole for a 67.
Nicolai Højgaard slipped to a 73, but was just two shots behind Justin Rose (70) and Ludvig Åberg (67).
It sets the stage for the end of the European Tour season, which will see McIlroy claim his seventh European No. 1 title, one step shy of Colin Montgomerie’s record. It’s already been a stellar year for McIlroy, who completed his career Grand Slam at Augusta National, won The Players Championship and Pebble Beach, won the Irish Open and led Europe to a Ryder Cup win.
“I can certainly take it easy these few weeks and enjoy myself,” McIlroy said. “But the fight in Dubai is important for me and it’s also important for me to try and get closer to Monty. As I said, I’ve put myself in a good position to do that tomorrow.”
