McIlroy shot a seven under par 65 over the course of the round, with Sullivan shooting four under.
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McIlroy mixed eight birdies with a solitary bogey at Jumeirah Golf Estates to trail tournament leader Andy Sullivan by a single stroke at 15 under heading into the final day.
Danny Willett, second in the rankings, is sharing sixth spot on 11 under.
World No 3 McIlroy tightened his grip on the Order of Merit despite being frustrated by his lowest round ever in the event.
McIlroy has a lead of just 1,613 points over Willett in the Race to Dubai, with Rose more than 600,000 points further back and needing to finish second or better to overtake his Ryder Cup team-mate. E verything was just firing today and that’s why I’m walking off the golf course a little bit disappointed because that 65 could have easily been a 62 or a 61.
The most spectacular golf of the day so far had come from England’s Lee Slattery, who played his last five holes in six under par thanks to eagles on the 14th and 15th and birdies on the next two holes.
“If you ask them they’ll probably say I was only there for about six months because I was asleep in the changing room half the time”, joked Sullivan, whose supporters wear T-shirts with a bright yellow smiley face on the front to reflect the 29-year-old’s irrepressible personality. I’m playing lovely so it bodes well for tomorrow.
“I played really good on the front nine without holing a massive amount, and then on 12 up the hill, I holed a long one there”, added Sullivan.
“Obviously playing with Rory on the first day there was a bit more of a buzz about it. We’ve worked our way back towards the back end of the field again which is nice, and hopefully a late tee time tomorrow will get the buzz back and help us try to do something good”.
‘It’s just a matter of trying to focus on myself, try and win the golf tournament, and that’s all I can do.
Even a victory on Sunday would not be enough for Rose if McIlroy was outright second.
“I just didn’t feel like I was hitting it as close as I was yesterday”, Sullivan told reporters. “But it’s exactly where I want to be, in contention going into Sunday”.
“I know Rory is going to have a good run at it tomorrow”. I am going to be in the final group, which is where I want to be.
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Former US Open champion Justin Rose could also win his second money list title but needs to finish second or better and was alongside Willett on seven under after cancelling out a birdie on the second with a bogey on the fourth.
