Patrick Reed remains on course to add his name to an illustrious list of American winners of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic after stretching away from the field on Saturday.
The 35-year-old Texan recovered from an opening hole bogey to card 67 in the second round at the Majlis Course.
That moved him to 14-under par for the tournament, and gave him a four-stroke lead over second-placed David Puig.
If he continues his form on Sunday, Reed would become the first American winner since Bryson DeChambeau in 2019.
He would also become the fourth in all from the United States, with two-time champion Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara also having previously won at Emirates Golf Club.
“It feels good to play late on Saturdays and even [better to play] late on Sundays,” Reed said at the end Round 3.
“Hopefully we can go in tomorrow and just continue to do what we're doing and at the end hold up a trophy.”
Reed has often contended on the final day at the Desert Classic, but not from such a position of strength.
There were moments when others challenged his lead on Saturday – at one point Francesco Molinari was briefly above him – but no one sustained it.
As the challengers found problems, Reed powered on relentlessly, finishing with an assured birdie at the last.
Reed said he was aware of the progress he was making while others stalled, saying, “I always look at the leaderboard”.
“During the good and bad, I'm always watching that leaderboard,” he said. “I always like to know where I stand no matter what.
“It's just kind of one of those things that, when I look at it, doesn't really change how I'm going to play at all.”
The surge that the biggest of the galleries were hoping for from Rory McIlroy on moving day did not amount to much.
The four-time champion – who memorably held off Reed to win the title in 2023 – carded a 2-under 70 to reach 3-under for the tournament. That left him down in 27th.
Tyrrell Hatton’s title defence has all but dissolved, as he unraveled with a 4-over-par round of 76 on Saturday.
Those who did manage to manoeuvre themselves just about into range of Reed were Puig and Viktor Hovland – and both made their charge from a distance back.
Puig carded a 66 to get to 10-under for the tournament, while Hovland shook off the rust with a 7-under round of 65.
“I know a played a wonderful round of golf today,” Hovland, the 2022 champion, said before acknowledging he is still a long way from comfortable in his game.
“Certainly, no complaints about a bogey-free 65 out here; this place is no joke. It still doesn't feel like I can stand on the tee and kind of swing for the fences, and swing loosely.
“It's all very contrived and manufactured, and it happened to go straight today. If I get off the tee and in a decent position, I can really do some damage.
“But I really would like to be able to stand on the tee box and swing hard and know that the ball is going to go fairly straight.
“I think the most important thing with that year is that it's not over until it's over. Because on this golf course, if you're a little bit off, you can easily shoot 2-, 3-, 4-over, and if you get it going, you can shoot 6-, 7-, 8-under par.
“There's massive swings out here. Just remembering about that year [in 2022, when he stunned McIlroy over the final holes to win], it's not over.”
