Rory McIlroy put himself in position to secure a possible end-of-season double after sharing the third-round lead with Rasmus Højgaard and Antoine Rozner at the DP World Tour Championship.
The World Number Three only needs a top -11 finish in Dubai to seal a sixth Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex crown of his career and is also chasing a third title on the Earth course.
He began the day one shot behind overnight leader Rozner, but it was Højgaard who surged clear at the top after four straight birdies from the second.
The Dane climbed to 12 under to move three clear at the eighth, however, McIlroy carded four birdies and a dropped shot in a six-hole stretch from the seventh to sit alongside Højgaard at the summit.
Both players missed chances to nudge in front and could not be separated as they parred their way home, with Rozner carding an eagle at the last to make it a three-way tie at the top ahead of the final round of the 2024 DP World Tour campaign.
McIlroy made an early move with a tap-in birdie at the second and Højgaard joined the party at nine under after completing a hat-trick of gains at the fourth.
The Dane took the outright lead with another at the fifth and when the final group both bogeyed the fourth, Højgaard was two clear.
They bounced back with birdies at the fifth to halve the deficit, but the leader improved his advantage to three after picking up shots at the seventh and eighth.
A birdie at the seventh and ninth saw McIlroy close the gap to one, with Rozner reaching double figures by closing his front nine with a gain.
The Northern Irishman bogeyed the tenth to rejoin his French rival at ten under, however, he bounced back once again with back-to-back birdies from the 11th to return to the summit.
Neither man could break free, although Højgaard rode his luck as he found the back door of the cup at the 17th to save par.
The 23-year-old then found the penalty area with his tee shot and his third down the last, only to roll in from 21 feet to keep his card clean and set the clubhouse target at 12 under.
And still made par for a bogey-free round of 66 😄#DPWTC | #RolexSeries https://t.co/Q6AGyMpEhe pic.twitter.com/Xosttpl3iP
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 16, 2024
McIlroy leaked his second into the greenside rough at the last and was inches from the birdie which would have seen him take a one-shot lead into the final round at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
However, Rozner, who had birdied the 11th and bogeyed the 14th, produced a stunning approach inside eight feet to card the only eagle of the day at the par-five 18th and move alongside McIlroy and Højgaard at the top of the leaderboard.
Chile's Joaquin Niemann mixed five birdies and two bogeys and Swede Jesper Svensson was flawless in his 68 to sit in fourth at ten under, while Englishman Tyrrell Hatton is one shot further back in sixth.
Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin carded a 67 to join Japan's Keita Nakajima at eight under.
Ryder Cup stars Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre are in the top ten with former World Number One Adam Scott and England's Matt Wallace at seven under par.
