DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy emerged from a wild afternoon Saturday at the DP World Tour Championship with three birdies over his last five holes for a 4-under 68, giving him a share of the lead with Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark as he closes in on a fourth straight Race to Dubai title.
The final hour at the Jumeirah Golf Estates featured an eight-way tie for the lead at one point. Nicolai Højgaard started the third round with the lead and his twin brother Rasmus became one of the leaders by the afternoon.
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When the third round ended, McIlroy and Neergaard-Peterson (68) were at 13-under 203, one shot clear of Tyrrell Hatton and five other players.
Hatton is the only player with a mathematical chance of catching McIlroy in the Race to Dubai, though it would require a collapse by the Masters champion on the Earth course where McIlroy is defending champion and has three titles.
“It would be an amazing way to end the season,” said McIlroy, who is coming off a tie for third in Abu Dhabi last week to strengthen his position at the top. “I played well when I needed to last week, especially at the weekend. I put myself in position to try to get another win here. So yeah, really pleased.”
Marco Penge of England, who is No. 2 in the Race to Dubai, opened with a 74 and has been largely out of the picture since. He shot 68 on Saturday but remains nine behind. Hatton becomes the next challenger, and his 67 left him in the chasing pack.
Hatton would have to win and have McIlroy finish outside the top eight, though with so many players bunched at the top, it’s not unreasonable for that to happen.
“Today’s round has given me a chance,” Hatton said.
Plenty is at stake for Neergaard-Petersen too. He kept a clean card after a bogey at the start for a 68, giving him a spot in the final group of the season finale and his first time playing with McIlroy. A strong finish could be enough for the Dane to earn one of the leading 10 spots for tour players to earn a PGA Tour card for 2026.
“I’ve had a big goal this year to see if I could win out here, and obviously if I were to do it tomorrow and get it over the line, that would be incredible,” he said.
The group one shot behind includes Rasmus Højgaard (65), Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Tommy Fleetwood (68), Laurie Canter (68) and Angel Ayora of Spain, who bogeyed the last for a 67.
Nicolai Højgaard slipped to a 73 but was only two shots behind along with Justin Rose (70) and Ludvig Åberg (67).
It sets up for a wide-open finish to the European tour season, with McIlroy going for a seventh title as Europe’s No. 1, one short of the record held by Colin Montgomerie. It already has been a banner year for McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta National, won The Players Championship and Pebble Beach, claimed the Irish Open and led Europe to victory in the Ryder Cup.
“I certainly could have coasted into these couple of weeks and enjoyed myself,” McIlroy said. “But the Race to Dubai is important to me, and it’s important to me to try to get a little bit closer to Monty. As I said, I’ve put myself in a great position to go and do that tomorrow.”
