‘Nerves are great’ - Liam Nolan keeps head down as he seeks maiden win in Abu Dhabi

Liam Nolan in action at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club. Picture: Getty Images

Liam Nolan insists he's blocking out any temptation to get ahead of himself as he takes a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Abu Dhabi Challenge.

The Galway man (26) fired a seven-under 63 in scorching temperatures at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club to lead on 16-under from Finland's Tapio Pulkkanen.

The former Walker Cup star currently sits in 43rd position on the Road to Mallorca, just inside the provisional cut-off for the season-ending Grand Final at the end of October. 

But while a maiden win in the UAE would catapult the Bearna talent to 13th position, putting him inside the top 15 who would earn DP World Tour playing rights for the 2027 season, he's determined not to think about it.

"I'm not looking at the Rankings at all," said Nolan, who is enjoying his second season in the professional ranks and feeling good about his game after a confidence-boosting performance in the Amgen Irish Open at Doonbeg, where a tie for 31st earned him a career-best cheque for €41,342. 

"I've found out in amateur golf that when you look too far ahead, you end up disappointed.

"I want to stay patient, control what I can control and enjoy myself as much as I can and then we'll look at the Rankings when the season's done."

He has his work cut out to secure that first win as Pulkkanen (36) has two HotelPlanner Tour wins on his CV and 190 DP World Tour appearances under his belt.

"I'm sure there will be some nerves that I haven't felt the first three days, but nerves are great," added Nolan, who has a three-shot lead over Italian Matteo Cristoni and Switzerland's Benjamin Rusch in third.

"I was pretty nervous when I played the Irish Open, but it's such a cool and fun experience to be nervous and for shots to matter a little bit more.

"It will be the same game plan and to stick to what I've been doing, and we will see where we sit at the end of tomorrow."

The Galway man has made 20 birdies so far this week but went bogey-free for the first time in round three.

"I played pretty well on the back nine which was fun because Tapio was also making birdies, so we were bouncing off each other a little bit," Nolan added.

"I hit lots of nice solid shots into 15 feet and the putter was working well.

"There's some pins I didn't really want to take on due to the steep run-offs, but the putter was the main reason for the birdies.

"I'm just going to keep riding this nice wave of good swing thoughts and the ball going straight."

As for coping with the heat, he's relied on his caddie Sean Nohilly to keep him focused.

"He only missed one round of golf since I turned pro due to a stomach virus, and other than that, we share houses every week together," Nolan said. 

"We do everything together. So it's nice to have him out there because we trust each other massively in every decision we make, and we can have a bit of fun as well. So yeah, he's a massive bonus for sure."

As for the other Irish, Gary Hurley's three-under 67 left him 23rd on six-under and projected to move up to 53rd in the Rankings.

Hurley will have chances in the next two events in China to make the top 45 who contest the Grand Final, but Mark Power has work to do to extend his season.

He's 73rd in the rankings, with only the top 70 qualifying for the events in China. 

But while his bogey-free 67 left him tied for 36th on five-under, he was projected to fall one spot to 74th in the Rankings and needs a hot final round to book his trip to China.