McIlroy sets up Fleetwood showdown in Dubai as Power makes Sony cut
Tommy Fleetwood of England plays his second shot on the 18th hole on Day Two of the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club on January 12, 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy was thrilled to see his game respond under pressure and set up a final-day showdown with Tommy Fleetwood for the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek.
As Fleetwood fired a brilliant bogey-free eight-under 63 to grab the 54-hole lead on 15-under, McIlroy overcame a slow start with four back-nine birdies and carded a 67 to go into the final round just one shot behind his Ryder Cup teammate.
"Shot four under on the back to try to keep up with Tommy," McIlroy said. "And, you know, played well that back nine and earned myself a tee time with him tomorrow, and it'll be good fun. I'm looking forward to it."
McIlroy admitted he felt pressure to perform down the stretch, but while he couldn't help tournament host Abdulla Al Naboodah edge out Fleetwood's partner Ali Fatourechi to win the Pro-Am event as they lost on a countback, he was pleased to respond well to Fleetwood's charge.
"I felt a little bit of pressure on the back nine today because I was trying to get over the line for the team event," McIlroy said. "But I think just the first week back, being in the final group, I started feeling a little bit of the buzz and the pressure, trying to win a golf tournament.
"You know, you think you know where your game is until you play in a situation like that. So, you know, I feel like I've been playing pretty well this week and hopefully (I can do that for) one more day."
Fleetwood started the third round three shots behind his Ryder Cup teammate but held a three-shot advantage of his own at one point as he made eight birdies to get to 15 under at Dubai Creek Resort.
Fleetwood has won twice in the United Arab Emirates down the road in Abu Dhabi but is looking for a first win in Dubai and seventh on the DP World Tour after claiming his first 54-hole lead on the European circuit for ten years.
The 32-year-old finished 2023 with a runner-up finish at the DP World Tour Championship and after flying in from the PGA TOUR season-opener in Hawaii, he takes a lead into the final round of a DP World Tour event for the first time since 2014.
"I felt I played very well, got off to the perfect start and got momentum early on, which I didn't have yesterday," said Fleetwood, after birdies at the 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th saw him keep just in front of McIlroy, who birdied the 11th, 12th, 13th and 16th.
"And then, yeah, that little patch through the middle of the back nine, where you just start seeing putts going in. It's funny when you get a day like that and you're just looking at them and you just feel like you can come close.
"You know, today they went my way. Yeah, just a bit of confidence when you start holing some and just get in that rhythm and that flow."
Dane Thorbjørn Olesen sits alone in third on 12 under after a 66, one clear of South African duo Thriston Lawrence and Zander Lombard and England's Jordan Smith.
Holywood's Tom McKibbin carded a four-under 67 to move up to 15th on six-under.
Meanwhile, West Waterford's Seamus Power made a clutch birdie at the 17th and carded a four-under 66 to make the cut on the mark at the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club.
Power began the day tied for 108th on two-over par, but he birdied the eighth, ninth and 10th to to get into the red, then made a two from seven feet at the 174-yard 17th before closing with a par-five.
He made the four-under-par cut on the mark and shares 65th place, just five shots behind Carl Yuan (65), Austin Eckroat (66) and Ben An (64) who lead by one stroke on nine-under from a ten-man chasing pack featuring Ben Griffin (62), Stewart Cink, Cam Davis, Keith Mitchell, Taylor Montgomery, Kurt Kitayama, Chris Kirk, Grayson Murray, Stephan Jaeger and Matthieu Pavon.
