Justin Harding secures his place at the top of the contenders in the final round, ahead of Rory McIlroy
The Dubai Desert Classic Golf Championship gears up to crown a new champion
The race towards the Arab Dalla Cup is coming to an end after an enthusiastic conclusion to the third day of the Dubai Desert Classic Golf Championship, sponsored by Slync.io, with the participation of more than 12 players on the grounds of Al Majlis Stadium.
And the tour began with Justin Harding in the lead, after he recorded yesterday 11 under-par, to maintain his position at the forefront of the competition after the decline of Terrell Hutton and Lee Westwood in the last nine holes.
Harding expressed his happiness with this result, saying: "I think I performed well despite the great challenges I faced, especially with the large area of the court. I will make sure to continue my efforts and move forward at the same level until the end of the tournament."
Harding leads two-time champion Rory McIlroy by two under par, while England's Tommy Fleetwood, who scored a birdie kick in the last two holes, is three points behind.
“It's hard to keep your cool when the results don't live up to the performance, but I still managed to turn things around and improve the result, and I'm satisfied with that,” Fleetwood said.
As for McIlroy, who lifted the Dalla Cup in 2009 and 2015, he finished his third round with a total of 69 points with a stunning Eagle strike on the 10th hole.
"I can say that the result reflects the unevenness of my performance, but I managed to regain control in the end by scoring a Birdie hit on the last hole and a good final result at the end of an admittedly exhausting and competitive day," he said.
The list of contenders in tomorrow's final round will include a group of players with 8-under par, including defending champion Paul Casey, South African Eric van Rooyen, Poland's Adrian Mironek, Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti, Richard Bland and Hatton from England, and Bernd Weisberger, the first Austrian to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup Championship.
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