DUBAI // For a veritable titan around these parts, it required a double take. Double being the operative word.
Rory McIlroy approached the 12th green yesterday tied for the third-round lead at the DP World Tour Championship, level with Henrik Stenson and the stage set for a marquee duel in the Sunday sun.
By the time the world No 1 had departed the 13th, though, he had slipped four shots back. Consecutive double bogeys, the second the result of some uncharacteristically errant chipping, contributed to a second successive 70, leaving McIlroy with the proverbial mountain to climb.
Having registered only three double bogeys in his previous 22 rounds on the Earth course – an overall score that reads a staggering 84-under – he suddenly had two in a row.
As it conspired to leave McIlroy four adrift of leaders Stenson and Rafael Cabrera-Bello going into the final day, the chances of adding the tournament trophy to his newly acquired Race to Dubai crown seem slim at best. He may well rue that Dubai double of an altogether different kind.
“Twelve and 13 obviously ruined that scorecard a little bit,” McIlroy said. “Makes life slightly more difficult for myself.”
It certainly does. Until that point, McIlroy had been bounding along, following a steady start by reeling off four birdies between holes five and 10. Then he ran into trouble.
At 12, he raced a lengthy par putt past the hole and promptly missed the short one back.
Then, after finding the gallery off the tee on the par-3 13th, McIlroy fluffed a couple of flop shots before tapping in for five. He denied the second double bogey was provoked by the first.
“Not really, it was just a bad swing on 13,” McIlroy said. “But it was annoying to follow up a double with another one.
“I was a little frustrated, although it was nice to get a couple back on the last few holes and at least keep myself within touch going into tomorrow.”
Undoubtedly, birdies on 14 and 18 were not only exorcising, but essential, too. Tied for fourth, those ahead of him are just within sight.
McIlroy needs to light it up early tomorrow, just as he did in his opening round, when he birdied four of the first five holes. “Hopefully, I get off to a fast start – get off to the start I did on Thursday – and try and put some pressure on the guys in front,” he said.
“I can’t afford to just stay patient. I have to go get some birdies from the off and see where I can go from there.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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