McIlroy edges ahead of Hatton, Fleetwood

A hole-out for eagle at the 10th spurred Rory McIlroy into the outright lead after day three in Abu Dhabi, with Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood his main rivals for the opening European Tour title of the season.

By Keith Jackson

Last Updated: 23/01/21 1:42pm

Rory McIlroy will take a slender lead over Tyrrell Hatton into the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as Justin Thomas made a shock exit.

McIlroy gave an excellent response to his difficulties of day two, salvaging a level-par 72 with a birdie at 17 as he completed his second round on Saturday morning, and a third-round 67 lifted him to the top of the leaderboard.

Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Rafa Cabrera Bello all held the lead at various stages of an intriguing Saturday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, but Thomas was catching an early flight back to the United States after he double-bogeyed the final hole of his second round to miss the halfway cut by one shot.

More to follow …