Hopes of an Irish victory evaporated within the desert air as Patrick Reed prolonged his result in 4 strokes heading into the ultimate spherical of the Hero Dubai Desert Basic.
The previous Masters champion fired a 5 underneath 67 to steer on 14-under par from fellow LIV Golf star David Puig (66) of Spain and by 5 from England’s Andy Sullivan (71) and Norway’s Viktor Hovland (65) as Rory McIlroy and Tom McKibbin shot 71s and Shane Lowry a two-over 74 to fade from competition.
“You are all the time excited exhibiting up on Sunday with a lead,” stated Reed, whose most up-to-date win got here within the Hong Kong Open 14 months in the past.
“It is what we dwell for as gamers, and as rivals, is to have an opportunity on Sundays, and play late on Sundays, and battle it out with the fellows”
“I do know it is not going to be simple, it by no means is, it does not matter how massive of a lead you’ve.
“However I am unable to await it and looking out ahead to tomorrow and hopefully go on the market, hold doing what I am doing, plugging alongside, hitting fairways and making some greens.”
Italians Andrea Pavan and Francesco Molinari share fourth place on eight underneath after matching 71s, leaving Puig as Reed’s nearest challenger.
“It was an amazing day from begin to end,” the Spaniard stated after ending with back-to-back birdies.
“Nonetheless just a little behind, however it’s going very well. Hopefully, tomorrow we have now probability.”
McIlroy hoped to make a third-round cost in his bid for a fifth win on the Emirates Golf Membership.
However he was caught in impartial for a lot of the day, and whereas he adopted 9 pars with birdies on the tenth and 14th, a three-putt bogey on the 18th meant he had 34 putts within the agency and speedy Dubai greens.
The Masters champion goes into the ultimate spherical tied for twenty seventh on 4 underneath, ten pictures behind Reed and one adrift of LIV star McKibbin, who rallied after a double bogey on the ninth with three back-nine birdies for a 71 that left him joint nineteenth on 4 underneath.
Lowry adopted three-putt bogeys on the sixth and eighth along with his lone birdie of the day on the ninth.
However after making eight pars coming residence, the Offaly man went for the 18th in two and took six after discovering water along with his 226-yard method.
Hovland might be a menace on Sunday after carding a bogey-free 65 to maneuver into competition.
“I do know I performed a beautiful spherical of golf right this moment,” he stated. “Actually no complaints a couple of bogey-free 65 out right here.
“This place isn’t any joke. Nonetheless does not really feel like I can stand on the tee and sort of swing for the fences, and swing loosely.
“It is all very contrived and manufactured, and it occurred to go straight right this moment. If I get off the tee and in a good place, I can actually do some injury.
“However I actually would really like to have the ability to stand on the tee field and swing laborious and know that the ball goes to go pretty straight.”
