DUBAI: Rory McIlroy emerged from a wild afternoon at the DP World Tour Championship with three birdies over his last five holes Saturday for a 4-under 68, giving him a share of the lead with Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark as he closes in on a fourth straight Race to Dubai title.
The final hour at the Jumeirah Golf Estates featured an eight-way tie for the lead at one point. Nicolai Hojgaard started the third round with the lead and his twin brother became one of the leaders by the afternoon.
When the third round ended, McIlroy and Neergaard-Peterson (68) were at 13-under 203, one shot clear of Tyrrell Hatton and five other players.
Hatton is the only player with a mathematical chance of catching McIlroy in the Race to Dubai, though it would require a collapse by the Masters champion on the Earth course where McIlroy is defending champion and has three titles.
“It would be an amazing way to end the season,” McIlroy said, who is coming off a tie for third in Abu Dhabi last week to strengthen his position at the top. “I played well when I needed to last week, especially at the weekend. I put myself in position to try to get another win here. So yeah, really pleased.”
Marco Penge of England, who is No. 2 in the Race to Dubai, opened with a 74 and has been largely out of the picture since then. He shot 68 on Saturday but remains nine behind. Hatton becomes the next challenger, and his 67 left him in the chasing pack.
Hatton would have to win and have McIlroy finish outside the top eight, though with so many players bunched at the top, it’s not unreasonable for that to happen.
“Today’s round has given me a chance,” Hatton said.
Plenty is at stake for Neergaard-Petersen, too. He kept a clean card after a bogey at the start for a 68, giving him a spot in the final group of the season finale and his first time playing with McIlroy. A strong finish could be enough for the Dane to earn one of the leading 10 spots for tour players to earn a PGA Tour card for 2026.
“I’ve had a big goal this year to see if I could win out here, and obviously if I were to do it tomorrow and get it over the line , that would be incredible,” he said.
The group one shot behind includes Rasmus Hojgaard (65), Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Tommy Fleetwood (68), Laurie Canter (68) and Angel Ayora of Spain, who bogeyed the last for a 67.
Nicolai Hojgaard slipped to a 73 but still was only two shots behind along with Justin Rose (70) and Ludvig Aberg (67).
It sets up for a wide-open finish to the European Tour season, with McIlroy going for a seventh title as Europe’s No. 1, one short of the record held by Colin Montgomerie. It already has been a banner year for McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta National, won The Players Championship and Pebble Beach, won the Irish Open and led Europe to victory in the Ryder Cup.
“I certainly could have coasted into these couple of weeks and enjoyed myself,” McIlroy said. “But the Race to Dubai is important to me, and it’s important to me to try to get a little bit closer to Monty. As I said, I’ve put myself in a great position to go and do that tomorrow.”
Rory McIlroy shares lead in Dubai and closes in on a 4th straight European title
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Rory McIlroy shares lead in Dubai and closes in on a 4th straight European title
- When the third round ended, McIlroy and Neergaard-Peterson (68) were at 13-under 203, one shot clear of Tyrrell Hatton and five other players
- Hatton is the only player with a mathematical chance of catching McIlroy in the Race to Dubai
Drake Maye aims to do what Tom Brady couldn’t with the Patriots: win a playoff game in Denver
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.: Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.
Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver — losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.
“Just the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That’d be huge,” Maye said. “Another road environment that’s had success in the past. … I know it would be a big-time win.”
The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in Foxborough. Denver beat Buffalo 33-30 to reach the conference title game.
New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the Patriots lost to them.
That loss — to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era — sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won’t have a chance to acclimate to.
“Kind of what we’ve been doing on the road all season long,” said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. “They’ve got a great team, so we’re going to have a tough challenge. But I’m looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.”
The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.
“Coach has always been saying, ‘Road warriors,’” Maye said. “So, we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year.”
The Broncos are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they’ll will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, the offense will be led by former Patriot Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023.
That’s why New England opened as a 5½-point favorite — the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4½.
“We always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. “We’re trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That’s kind of the philosophy we’ve had for a long time.”
Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: A major snowstorm is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.
Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can’t leave Denver on Sunday night.
“We have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. something that they’re familiar with here,” he said. “I mean, there’s things I can control, that I can’t control.”
