Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic set for super Sunday showdown as big guns including McIlroy lurk behind Harding

Two-time Dubai Desert Classic winner Rory McIlroy shot his way into Sunday’s final group as he hunts his hat-trick — but he will still have to deny leader Justin Harding and a host of big guns if he is to equal Ernie Els’ triple crown at Emirates Golf club.

The Northern Irishman fired a three-under par 69 — thanks in no small part to an eagle on 10 and a second consecutive birdie on 18 — to take second spot on the leaderboard on 10-under, two strokes behind South Africa’s Harding.

One stroke back are Tommy Fleetwood and Erik van Rooyen, while defending champion Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton are in a chasing pack tied for fifth. Lee Westwood was also in contention until a horror eight on the par-5 18 dropped him to seven-under in 11th spot alongside evergreen Padraig Harrington.

“I think it was a fair reflection how I played,” McIlroy said of a scorecard that held An eagle, four birdies and three bogeys. “There were some good things in there and a couple bad things as well and I feel like it all evened out by the end and it was nice to birdie the last and shoot something in the 60s and play myself into the final group tomorrow.

“There was a great atmosphere out there today. Hopefully another great atmosphere tomorrow. I mean, I’ve played in a lot of final groups here, so it’s nothing new to me at this point and I’m excited for it.”

Dubai has obviously been a happy hunting ground for McIlroy, and he would love to match Els with a third Dubai Desert Classic title.

“It would be nice to get another win, especially here in Dubai,’ he said. “But it’s obviously nice to get a win any where early in the season. So I’ve just got to go out there tomorrow and try to play a good round of golf and hopefully it’s good enough.”

He added with a laugh: “I live in Ernie’s old house in Florida so it would be nice to do something else to be intertwined with him.”

Harding shot a steady 71 to maintain his grasp on top spot, picking up two birdies and a solitary bogey on Saturday.

“I played pretty well on a difficult day. There are some big players and it is a pretty big field. But at the end of the day, I’ve just got to go out and keep doing what I’m doing, and make a couple birdies and shoot 70, 69, something like that, and make them shoot five or six-under par. Yeah, just another day at the office, really, to be fair.”

Fleetwood, who picked up two birdies in the final two holes, will be keen to keep up the momentum on Sunday afternoon.

“I played really, really well,” the two-time Abu Dhabi champion said. “I did nothing silly and had a solid back nine. If I was ever like a long distance away from the hole: I got up and down on two, and up and down on 17, 18, so it felt like you took some back that you gave away early on with a couple of early bogeys.

“I will go out and try my best. I just need to stay on task, which is much more of a long-term sort of project, I guess, trying to get my game back to where I want to be, and I’ve got a chance to do it under a bit more pressure rather than just going out on Sunday. I am excited to see what the day brings, est all aspects of my game in contention and who knows, it will be nice to have the juices flowing and see where it leads.”

Defending champ Casey added: “I know I can win around here. And I want to win again. So I mean, I’ve got the motivation. I think that’s the big thing. I know how to play the golf course, but there are a lot of guys that know how to play the golf course. I am driving it well, the weather is perfect here in Dubai, we have the crowd back, the energy is there and we’ve got all the ingredients for a stellar event on Sunday.”