Rory McIlroy’s hopes of clinching the Race to Dubai remain in the balance after a promising charge came to a watery end on the 18th hole on day three of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
McIlroy had started the day well adrift of the lead after a late triple-bogey setback in the second round, while leader Paul Waring set a course record.
The Northern Irishman drove the green on the 14th with a 346-yard drive before knocking it in for a birdie, and had hauled himself up into contention, tieing for fourth place coming coming into the final hole.
Hooking it left, the ball veered towards the sea, struck a rock on the shore before cannoning straight into the water, eventually dropping McIlroy back down to three under for the round.
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Highlights from the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links
“Playing the last two holes two over, two days in a row is not ideal,” said McIlroy after the round.
“The wind got up a little bit this afternoon so the leaders weren’t getting away, which was nice, so I was making a little bit of a charge.
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“One mistake with that drive on 18 and so much into the wind, with the third shot the lay-up was very difficult to try and take on the water.
“An untimely mistake just like yesterday on 17 and dug myself a bit of a hole to get out of. But depending on what the leaders do, I can still go into tomorrow feeling like I have half a chance.
“I bogeyed the first today and doubled the last and in between that there was some really good golf, same as yesterday. I need to put it all together and play the way I’ve been playing and keep the big mistakes and the big numbers off my card.
“If I can do that and post a good score, you never know.”
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McIlroy remains just about in contention as Waring was not able to maintain his record-scoring streak and could not make gains to stretch ahead.
The Englishman, ranked 229 in the world, carded two bogeys and saw his five-stroke lead at the end of day two trimmed to just one ahead of Niklas Horgaard, with McIlroy five back from the lead.
Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood share third place along with Thorbjorn Oleson and Sebastian Sodeberg.
Who will win the Race to Dubai? Watch the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship this month live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports