Eleven With Four Shots Of Season-Ending DP World Tour Trophy

The season-ending DP World Tour Championship is set to end on a thrilling note with 11 players within four shots of the lead heading to the final round of the last event of the 2020 European Tour season.

Texan Patrick Reed struggled forfeiting his two shot second day leading cushion and managing to birdie the last hole for a third day running in a 71 to move to 11-under par on the Earth course at Jumeirah Estates course.

Tied with Reed atop of the Euro 6.6 million event is the England duo of Laurie Canter (68) and 2016 DP World winner Matthew Fitzpatrick (69).

A shot back is Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre along with Spaniard Adri Arnaus (67), last week’s PGA Tour winner Viktor Hovland (66) and past double European No. 1 Lee Westwood (68).

Finn Sami Valimaki (69) in eighth and with England’s Danny Willett (69), the 2018 DP World winner in ninth place and rounding out the 10 is double winner this year in Andy Sullivan (67).

Two of the biggest movers on the day were Hovland and MacIntyre and both sharing 12th spot heading into golf’s ‘Moving Day’ with 66s.

Hovland had travelled 30-hours from Mexico and did not arrive in Dubai until Tuesday morning after his stunning second PGA Tour success at the Mayakoba Championship.

Now the Norwegian superstar is on the verge of not only winning on the European Tour for a first time but achieving the rare feat of winning one week on the PGA Tour and sealing success a week later of golf’s second biggest tour.

“I feel like I hit it well the first two days as well. I just didn’t really get it that close.,” he said.  “Today I was able to hit my approach shots a little closer. Drove it a little better off the tee, so that set that up, and I was able to make a couple putts early, just kind of get the momentum from the get-go.

“I don’t think I — yeah, my first birdies of the day, the first two days, were on 5 and 7 instead of today I was able to birdie the first three. So that always helps.”

And if the 23-year old and World No. 15 were to win?

“I grew up watching The European Tour, growing up in Norway, it’s a lot closer to home,” he said. “I’ve already had a couple of wins on the PGA Tour and it would be really nice to add to the resumé by getting one on The European Tour”.

And don’t by any means discount MacIntyre and with the 24-year old Oban lefty riding high after capturing a first Tour title a month ago Cypress

Also, if MacIntyre were to win he would join fellow Scot Sandy Lyle as only two players in 60-years to win the ‘Rookie of the Year’ and No. 1 in Europe double after a stunning DP World Tour Championship bogey-free third day 66 on the Earth course at Jumeirah Estates course in Dubai.

As well, MacIntyre would be the first Scot in 15-years since Colin Montgomerie in 2005 to win the Race to Dubai money-list trophy.

MacIntyre turned Friday’s famine of only just one birdie in six on day three including four in six holes from the 11th to 16th holes on the Greg Norman designed course.

He said: “Yeah, played great.  It’s always good to have a bogey-free run but doing it today was huge.  It’s now given me an opportunity for tomorrow and then just going to enjoy myself tomorrow and see where I end up.

“The putter was there today.  I was hitting it closer.  The greens, I was hitting it closer, which gives you the opportunity to make birdies.  I think I hit 15 greens yesterday and I was 25 foot away every time, so you’re giving yourself chances but today I was knocking it in close.

“I played really good again and that’s been the secret last couple of weeks, and when the putter has been good, I’ve scored well.”

It’s 15-years since Monty captured a record-setting eighth No. 1 crown in 2005 while fellow Sandy Lyle is the only European Tour player is the only player in 60-years to win the one-time only ‘Rookie of the Year’ title, and that was in 1968, and the end the following year as No. 1 in 1969.

And when advised of the efforts of both Scots the 24-year-old MacIntyre smiled saying: “To follow in Sandy’s and Monty’s steps would mean everything.

“But I’ve got a job to do tomorrow, so I can’t look too far ahead.”

And MacIntyre is now at the front door of a first Masters invitation should he finish third in the DP World, an effort that would see him move from 59th on the World Rankings and into a likely 48th position in the last major ranking week of the year.



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