Rory McIlroy began the day 10 shots behind leader Cameron Young, desperately needing a low round to give himself a chance.
He started his round with a birdie and thus served as a harbinger of things to come. McIlroy went on to shoot an impressive 9-under 63, which tied the low round of the week at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
The four-time major winner capped off his round with a fantastic eagle on the par-5 18th, as he holed a putt from over 40 feet off the green to get to 12-under for the tournament.
“I was walking up with the putter in my hand, and as I got closer to the ball, I saw that there was a lot of fringe to go through. And I said to [my caddy] Harry [Diamond], like I want to chip it, but the lie wasn’t great. I could just see the club bouncing,” McIlroy said of his third shot on the 18th.
“[So I decided that] I would ride my luck with the putter, and it came out perfectly. And as soon as it got on the green, it wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be once it got on the green. And it was tracking perfectly. Obviously, a huge bonus for something like that to go in.”
When the putt dropped, McIlroy quickly found himself tied for the lead. But because he started the day a couple of hours earlier than the leaders, he now sits two shots behind Young.
The 26-year-old American carded a 1-under 71 Saturday and is at 14-under going into Sunday’s final round.
“I feel like you expect him to do that,” Young said of McIlroy’s 63. “Figured he wasn’t going to be 30th for long.”
McIlroy and Young will comprise the final pairing on Sunday in Dubai.
“I think it will be fun,” Young added. “I’ve played well this week, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what I can do.”
The key for Young will be getting off to a good start, which McIlroy did on Saturday.
The Northern Irishman tore up the front nine—the tougher of the two sides—as he made five birdies over his first nine holes. That includes three straight holes on the 7th, 8th, and 9th, all of which came from within 10 feet.
“I think for me, the key to this golf course is always the front nine because it is the tougher nine, and if you can play that nine well, you give yourself a ton of momentum going into the more scorable back nine,” McIlroy explained.
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Rory McIlroy tees off on the 8th hole during the third round of the 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images
“I thought if I could get off to a good start, I was a couple under through three, and I thought if I could pick one or two more up from that tough stretch from five through nine, and I ended up picking three up, birdieing seven, eight and nine, which was fantastic. And then just kept it going into the back nine.”
McIlroy made a fourth straight birdie at the par-5 10th and then had one more par-breaker at the par-5 13th. By then, he was 7-under for his round and 10-under overall.
Five holes later, he capped off his round with that eagle, meaning he played the par-5s in 5-under on Saturday.
That has helped put him in position to win the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for a fourth time, which would be an “amazing” accomplishment for McIlroy.
“[I would be the] first player to get my name on [that trophy] four times, yeah, it would be awesome,” McIlroy said.
“I’ve had so much success in Dubai, whether at this tournament or over at Jumeirah Golf Estates and in the Race to Dubais. It’s been a really, really good place for me. I love coming back here. I really enjoy my time here. Yeah, it would be amazing if I could get another win.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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