McIlroy leads in Dubai by 3; Reed’s drive gets stuck in the tree

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy delivered a demonstration of the short iron game to shoot 7-under 65 in his third round and build a three-shot lead at Sunday’s Dubai Desert Classic.

The top-ranked McIlroy made eight birdies at Emirates Golf Club – four in a row from No. 1, three straight from No. 13 and another from No. 17 – and none of the yardage putts were from more than 7 feet.

“I drove the ball better today which put me in better attacking and birdies positions,” said the Northern Irishman of his first start in 2023. “It’s almost there, not quite but I’m making the best of it good shots that I hit and place well. I’m playing really efficient golf right now.”

McIlroy gave the chasers some hope, however, by bogeying on the par-5 #18 for his only losing shot of the round after hitting a fairway wood into the water from about 250 yards from the green. After missing a par putt from 8 feet, McIlroy had a look of disappointment on his face as he left the green despite having a commanding lead.

The four-time major champion made the same mistake on the 18th hole on his final round in last year’s tournament to finish a shot behind the leaders when a birdie would have earned him the title.

“I love this golf course, this tournament. I’ve won here a few times… but I don’t think I’ve won my first start (in a year),” he said. “I gave myself an opportunity to do something I’ve never done before.”

McIlroy was 15th overall, with England players Callum Shinkwin (67) and Dan Bradbury (68) in second at 484.

As the players on the leaderboard made their way down the track, it looked like McIlroy and Patrick Reed would be in the final group together on Monday’s final lap. That would have been a must after they made headlines with a pre-tournament spat.

However, Reed bogeyed on the mobile par 4 17 when his drive shot caught on a palm tree after the American attempted to dogleg the corner to the right. Reed finished with 69 shooting and was fourth in a seven-man group tied 11-under, four shots behind McIlroy.

“You know what, I hit that tee shot, I didn’t even see those palms,” Reed said. “I felt like it was on a good line, just left of the green and I think I just need to be a little more to the right or a little higher.”

Reed and a rules officer used binoculars to identify the player’s ball in the tree. This allowed Reed to perform a penalty drop near the base of the tree instead of having to return to the tee.

“I would have gone back to the tee if I hadn’t been 100%,” Reed told Britain’s The Daily Telegraph. “I was lucky that we could see through the binoculars and you have to make sure it’s your ball and how I mark my golf balls I always put an arrow at the end of my line.

“And you could definitely see and identify the line with the arrow at the end and luckily the rules officer was there to reconfirm and double check to make sure it was mine too.”

Also in the under-11 group was France’s Victor Perez (66), winner of last week’s equally prestigious Abu Dhabi championship.

Spaniard Adri Arnaus briefly held the lead to 13 after eight holes of his round, but fell away after a No. 9 bogey and a double bogey on the par-5 13. Arnaus was also one of those on 11 under.

The tournament ends on Monday after bad weather disrupted play on the first two days.