RORY MCILROY HAS left himself with a mountain to climb on Sunday if he wants to end a peerless season with more silverware after slipping further off the pace at the Tour Championship in Dubai this morning.
The World number one is now four shots behind leaders Henrik Stenson and Rafael Cabrera-Bello after carding a two-under par round of 70 on Saturday.
The four-time Major winner is playing in his first event in six weeks after opting to miss the start of the Race to Dubai series to concentrate on his impending court case with Horizon Sports.
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McIlroy took advantage of the favourable scoring conditions to record three birdies before the turn and move into a share of the lead but came unstuck with back-to-back double bogeys at the 12th and 13th.
The 25-year-old three-putted on 12 before a wild drive at the following hole threatened to bring back memories of the meltdown he suffered at the 2011 Masters. In the space of half an hour, McIlroy went from the summit of the leader board to outside the top.
A birdie four on the final hole ensured he remained in touch heading into the final round of the year. All is not lost, however.
He managed to overturn a similar deficit earlier in the year to win the PGA Championship at Wentworth and he’ll need another remarkable round on Sunday to prevent Stenson from defending the trophy he won last year.
“I’m obviously a bit frustrated at the minute about those double bogeys but at least the late birdies mean I’m not out of it,” he told Sky Sports after the round. “The idea on Sunday will be to play aggressively and go at the pins and try to post a low score.”
Shane Lowry, meanwhile, failed to build on his hole in one yesterday as he slipped further down the leader board with a level par round of 72 on Saturday. He is seven shots behind the leaders.
Cabrera-Bello fired a seven-under par round of 65 to move into a share of the lead with Stenson, who is searching for his first victory since winning this event twelve months ago.
The pair are three shots clear of England’s Justin Rose.
Back-to-back double bogeys dent McIlroy's chances of ending year with another win
RORY MCILROY HAS left himself with a mountain to climb on Sunday if he wants to end a peerless season with more silverware after slipping further off the pace at the Tour Championship in Dubai this morning.
The World number one is now four shots behind leaders Henrik Stenson and Rafael Cabrera-Bello after carding a two-under par round of 70 on Saturday.
The four-time Major winner is playing in his first event in six weeks after opting to miss the start of the Race to Dubai series to concentrate on his impending court case with Horizon Sports.
McIlroy took advantage of the favourable scoring conditions to record three birdies before the turn and move into a share of the lead but came unstuck with back-to-back double bogeys at the 12th and 13th.
The 25-year-old three-putted on 12 before a wild drive at the following hole threatened to bring back memories of the meltdown he suffered at the 2011 Masters. In the space of half an hour, McIlroy went from the summit of the leader board to outside the top.
A birdie four on the final hole ensured he remained in touch heading into the final round of the year. All is not lost, however.
He managed to overturn a similar deficit earlier in the year to win the PGA Championship at Wentworth and he’ll need another remarkable round on Sunday to prevent Stenson from defending the trophy he won last year.
Shane Lowry, meanwhile, failed to build on his hole in one yesterday as he slipped further down the leader board with a level par round of 72 on Saturday. He is seven shots behind the leaders.
Cabrera-Bello fired a seven-under par round of 65 to move into a share of the lead with Stenson, who is searching for his first victory since winning this event twelve months ago.
The pair are three shots clear of England’s Justin Rose.
– First published 13.44
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