Danny Willett took control of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic with a brilliant seven under par 65 in the third round at Emirates Golf Club.
The Englishman, who finished second behind Rory McIlroy in the 2015 Race to Dubai, reached 16 under par with thanks to an eagle, six birdies and a bogey, and will take a one-shot lead into the final day, when he will aim to capture his fourth European Tour title.
Behind him is Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello, the winner here in 2012 who signed for a 67, while England’s Andy Sullivan, who continues his affinity with Dubai after finishing runner-up in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in November, is another stroke back at 14 under following a 66.
South African Ernie Els, who has won the tournament three times – more than any other player – was one shot off the lead at the halfway stage but slipped down to tied 28th after a 74 , while victory may now be beyond world number two and defending champion Rory McIlroy after a 68 left him tied 21st, eight shots back.
Danny Willett
“I played great golf today and kept the foot down. It could have been a couple better today, but I’m delighted. I’ve been working hard, doing the hard work in the gym and changing the swing a little bit to counter it, so it’s all coming together nicely and it’s nice to get results from it. It’s not too often you shoot back-to-back 65s. I kept the ball under fantastic control with some crosswinds and hit it in there close. I was very in control of myself mentally, as well. I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible and let the mind be a little bit calmer.
“If anyone tells you they won’t be thinking about what they have to do tomorrow they’d be lying. It gets into your head and you go through scenarios, bad and good. You try to even them out so that when you come out tomorrow, regardless of what happens early or late on, you’re ready for it.”
Rafa Cabrera-Bello
“I’m very pleased with the score, five under again, and I’m really happy to be just one behind the leader. The conditions were a little easier than yesterday, with a little less wind, but the fairways are getting firmer, the rough is growing a bit and the greens are a bit harder and faster every day. Tomorrow I need to play aggressively, keep playing as well as I am to give myself a chance. Lots of players are not far off the lead and all of them are going to have a chance tomorrow and they are definitely all as hungry as I am. The win was a long time ago, but I know what to do around here to win.”
Andy Sullivan
“I just found something with my driving. I was struggling with it in Abu Dhabi and struggled with it on Thursday, but found a bit more rhythm and managed to keep it on the fairways. My iron play is really good this week, so if I keep on doing that, I know I’m going to give myself chances. It’s very satisfying to be where I am on the leaderboard and I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
Rory McIlroy
“It is going to be a long shot, but I came back from seven shots behind at Wentworth a couple of years ago, so it’s not out of the realms of possibility. There’s a lot of good stuff in there obviously but there’s not much consistency. There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of not so good. If there was at least something that was sort of going wrong all the time, at least you can put your finger on it and have a plan to try to rectify it. But there’s one more day to try to play a good round of golf, and I’ve got next week off to work on a few things and finally get home.”
