McIlroy shot a 3-under 69 to get to 10 under overall at the
tournament he won in 2009 and 2015. He closed the gap on Harding, who
maintained his halfway advantage with a 71 at Emirates Golf Club.
“It would be nice to get another win, especially here in
Dubai,” the No. 8-ranked McIlroy said. “I’ve just got to go out there tomorrow
and try to play a good round of golf and hopefully it’s good enough.”
On the back nine, McIlroy hit three superb second shots into
par 5s that set up an eagle and two birdies. He had two other birdies on the
front nine along with three bogeys on the day.
“It was a fair reflection how I played. Some good things in
there and a couple bad things as well and I feel like it all evened out by the
end and it was nice to birdie the last and shoot something in the 60s and play
myself into the final group tomorrow,” the four-time major winner said.
Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Erik van Rooyen (71) are both three
strokes off the lead, one shot clear of a group of six that includes Paul Casey
(70) and Tyrrell Hatton (73).
Harding was disappointed not to add birdies on his final two
holes. He finished with two birdies and a bogey.
“The greens are tough,” the South African said. “They are
concrete but when you are chipping into them it’s difficult to chip them up
close. You find yourself making 4- or 5-footers all day long.”
Still, Harding said he’s pleased with his position heading
into Sunday.
“At the end of the day, I’ve just got to go out and keep
doing what I’m doing, and make a couple birdies and shoot 70, 69, something
like that, and make them shoot 5- or 6-under par, credit to them,” he said.
Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington (69) is five
shots back. -AP