ABU DHABI: England’s Paul Waring shot a one-over par 73 and held a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Saturday as Ireland’s Rory McIlroy continued to struggle.
A day after setting a course record 61, the 39-year-old Waring was the only player among the top-29 on the leaderboard to post an over-par score for a total 18-under par 198.
Fast-rising Dane Niklas Norgaard Moller hit a third round 69 to cut Waring’s five-shot overnight lead.
World number three Rory McIlroy dropped a big number in his closing holes for the second day in a row, this time a double bogey on the par-5 18th after an errant tee shot found water on the left side, to sit five shots off the lead.
On Friday, the Northern Irishman had made a triple bogey on the par-3 17th.
“If you’d given me a one-shot lead going into the final round at the beginning of the week, I would have snatched your hand,” said Waring, who is looking for his first win since the 2018 Nordea Masters.
“A little disappointed, because I felt like I could have really moved forward today and put myself out of sight.
“You’ve got to have an average day, don’t you?“
Three shots back, Ireland’s Shane Lowry (66), the 2019 tournament winner, was tied for third with Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (71), Dane Thorbjoern Olesen (71) and Swede Sebastian Soederberg (68) at 15-under par.
With the wind picking up toward the afternoon and the greens becoming firmer and faster, the conditions were challenging after two benign days.
Waring had taken advantage of the conditions with rounds of 64 and 61 and started the day at 19-under.
An early birdie extended his advantage, but a three-putt bogey on the par-3 fourth hole frayed his nerves, after which he struggled to get his speed and line right with the putter.
British Masters champion Norgaard made his first bogey of the tournament on the ninth hole, but three birdies on the back nine kept him in the hunt for a second title this year.
“Very satisfied with today,” said the 32-year-old, who is almost guaranteed a PGA Tour card next season as one of top-10 players from the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings.
A disappointed McIlroy closed with a three-under-par 69 and dropped to tied 13th position on 13-under-par 203.
He still felt confident of getting his hands on the trophy in Abu Dhabi for the first time in his career.
“Playing the last two holes two-over two days in a row is not ideal. Cost myself a few shots there,” said McIlroy, who is seeking to secure his sixth DP World Tour Order of Merit crown next week in Dubai and match the legendary Spaniard Seve Ballesteros.
“The leaders weren’t getting away, which was nice and I was making a little bit of a charge. And yeah, just one mistake, that drive on 18, and with it playing so much into the wind.
“It was an untimely mistake, just like yesterday on the 17th, and I dug myself a little 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 just need to put it all together and play the way I’ve been playing and keep the big mistakes and big numbers off my card and if I can do that and post a score, you never know.”

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Saturday he is unsure if teenage winger Lamine Yamal will be fit to start the La Liga leaders’ visit to face Real Sociedad on Sunday.
The coach also said he thought playmaker Dani Olmo would be ready despite feeling unwell overnight, while defender Pau Cubarsi can play despite suffering a cut on his face during the team’s Champions League win over Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday.
“Pau, I think (he will be fit), he trained with us for the whole training session,” Flick told reporters.
“Lamine, he was (working) inside and did specific strength training. He’s had a lot of matches in the last weeks so we took care of him... we’ll see what the situation is tomorrow.
“With Dani he felt a little bit uncomfortable at night and this morning is doing better, so with him just treatments and medical things, I think he’s ready for tomorrow.”
Barcelona held a nine point lead on second-place Real Madrid heading into the weekend.
Flick also emphasized the importance of punctuality for his players.
Spanish media reported French defender Jules Kounde was left out of the starting line-up to face Alaves in October after arriving late for a team meeting.
“It’s a rule. I don’t speak about what happened in the past, it’s just about respect for the team,” said Flick.
“If you are five minutes too late, the others have to wait, this is not respect, this is not my understanding of being respectful.”