Hatton Leads as McIlroy & Chacarra Tie in Race to Dubai Duel

• Tyrrell Hatton leads the DP World Tour Championship by one shot after three rounds.
• Victor Perez is alone in second after a third-round 67.
• Rory McIlroy and Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra are tied for fourth.

Tyrrell Hatton will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the DP World Tour Championship, but the contest four shots behind him may decide more than the tournament.

Rory McIlroy and Eugenio Chacarra finished Saturday level on 5-under. That sets up what looks like a straight shootout for the Harry Vardon Trophy. McIlroy is chasing a fifth successive Race to Dubai title and an eighth in all, which would equal Colin Montgomerie’s record. Chacarra, the 26-year-old Spaniard who went top of the rankings in Delhi, arrived in Dubai as leader.

Jon Rahm, buoyed by his win in Abu Dhabi, and Patrick Reed, who led the standings for much of the season, now need an unlikely series of events on Sunday.

How did Hatton take control?

Hatton shared the halfway lead with McIlroy, his playing partner, on 5-under. He moved two clear with a 10-foot eagle putt at the par-5 2nd. A bogey at the difficult 5th let Perez draw level, and then McIlroy struck. An eagle at the 7th took the Northern Irishman to the top.

It lasted one hole. McIlroy bogeyed the 8th and 9th, while Hatton birdied the 9th and 10th to lead by three. A further birdie at the 14th followed an excellent up-and-down, and a perfect wedge into the 16th set up another. Hatton finished on 9-under, four shots better than his overnight total.

“Every putt I had coming in, I think from 13, the par-3, just unbelievably fast and (I’m) really happy with how I putted today,” Hatton said. “I think my iron play’s been pretty good these last two weeks. Last week I was really happy with my wedges, this week it’s a little bit harder to get the wedges right.”

Perez finished his second round with an eagle. On Saturday he birdied three of his first seven holes, then made birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th for a 67 and 8-under. He joins Hatton in Sunday’s final pairing.

“I know tomorrow’s going to be a tough day, I’ve got enough experience down these last few holes to know that anything can happen,” Hatton said. “I’ll just go out tomorrow and try my best.”

McIlroy answers Chacarra

Chacarra started the day four off the lead after two inconsistent rounds. He birdied the 1st, then traded a birdie at the 3rd for a bogey at the 4th. Back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th, the first greeted with a huge fist pump, pulled him level with McIlroy and Rahm on 4-under. He found the green in two at the last and holed for birdie, a 68 and a 5-under total.

McIlroy, meanwhile, had found an awkward lie in the rough off the tee at the 14th. He hit a wedge into the par-5 and birdied it, and his birdie at the 18th kept him level with the Spaniard.

Rahm made three birdies in four holes around the turn but ran up a double bogey at the 16th. A closing birdie left him on 3-under, just outside the top ten.

The chasing pack

Francesco Laporta, fourth behind Rahm in Abu Dhabi, eagled the 7th and climbed to second with three birdies in four holes from the 13th. A bogey at the last dropped him to 5-under. Adam Scott’s 67 lifted him into a share of fourth with Laporta, McIlroy and Chacarra.

Dan Bradbury posted the best round of the week, a 66, finishing with five straight birdies and nearly holing for eagle at the last to reach 4-under. Reed was 8-over after two rounds and found some of his early-season form with a 67.

Only 14 players were under par after 36 holes. Joe Dean’s three straight birdies from the 2nd were an early sign that the course would yield more on Saturday.

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