They hold a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the 2024 DP World Tour Championship with 18 holes remaining in the European final between Rory McIlroy and Rasmus Hoyga Rasmus Højgaard and Antoine Rozner are tied for the lead at 12 under. Fellow Europeans Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton remain a distant second, with Joaquin Niemann rounding out the top 10 Same thing with Adam Scott.
“This is [exciting]. Tied for the lead,” McIlroy said. “You know, playing on a golf course that I really enjoy and that I've had success with before. Yeah, look, it's a great opportunity to end the year on a really high note. I'm going to do my best tomorrow and hopefully everything goes well and I can stand on the 18th green with two trophies. “
After three rounds of competition, McIlroy has almost won the Dubai Championship for the third consecutive time and the sixth championship of his career. The 35-year-old had a huge lead over Thirston Lawrence heading into the week and needed a solo finish of 11th or better to close out the season. He appears to have done that, but he will be looking for more, as a fourth win of the season could be on the way if he pulls away from the leaders.
At the start of the weekend, McIlroy was just one point ahead, with Hoygaard pushing the pace to the front and McIlroy once again needed to get off to a fast start. The Dane birdied six of seven holes in the outer half to shoot 30 and give himself the lead heading into the back nine.
However, the circle disappeared from his scorecard as Hoygaard fired nine straight pars to go indoors at 12 under. That opened the door for McIlroy, who fell three points behind early in the third round. After trading a birdie for bogey at the turn, the Northern Irishman made consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-12 to catch up with the leader.
Similar to Hoygaard, McIlroy struggled with six pars over the final six holes at Jumeirah Estate and allowed a third player to join the lead. Rozner's final eagle pushed the 36-hole leader's name into a tie for the 54-hole lead and set the stage for a career-changing day in Dubai.
“After birdieing No. 12, you know, I had a great chance and I hit a really good shot going into 13 and just caught the edge,” McIlroy said. “Then 14 and 15 were both birdie holes, and I didn’t make a birdie on any of them, and I only had a 6-iron in my hand going into the last green, and I didn’t make a birdie there. Bird. I was a little disappointed with the way I played the last five holes, but obviously still in a really good position going into tomorrow.”
While McIlroy hopes to add another accolade to his lengthy resume, Hoygaard and Rozner are aiming for more than just one trophy. A year later, Hoygaard narrowly gave up the last spot in the Dubai Tour standings to qualify for the PGA Tour, and his goal is to replace Lawrence as the top player and enter the 2025 PGA Tour season. The first two iconic events.
For Rozner, a PGA Tour card could come as a surprise. The Frenchman is four spots over the cutoff heading into the week and is expected to move up 19 places in the standings for the trip to Dubai with a win and within the range needed to secure race privileges on American soil.
“Honestly, I don't know what to tell you right now because I'm going to try to focus on tomorrow and only tomorrow,” Rozner said. “Getting good results, that's the only thing that matters to me now. I have to have the right mentality and yes, do my best and we'll see how it goes in the end.”