Rory McIlroy was comforted by "some really good golf" after a brilliant burst on the back nine moved him into contention at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.
McIlroy is aiming to secure an eighth Harry Vardon Trophy, matching the tally set by Colin Montgomerie, and he boosted his chances with a third round of 67 at Yas Links.
The Northern Irishman briefly joined the lead after birdies at the second, seventh, eighth and ninth holes only to get in trouble and double bogey the tenth.
He bounced back in fine style with four straight birdies from the 11th to sit at the summit alongside Ryder Cup team-mates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
A bogey at the 17th saw him slip two shots behind overnight leader Rahm at 16 under, but he remained optimistic about his chances on Sunday.
"I'm encouraged as I played some really good golf out there, but also a little wasteful," the World Number Two said.
"I felt like I had some really good momentum coming off the back of the front nine, then was in a good position on ten. Just the bunker shot came out a lot faster than I anticipated, and then over the green and it was sort of dead from there.
"I followed another poor shot with another mistake and ended up making a mess and made double, but fought back and made birdies on the next four holes.
"So it was a good bounce back and let it go at the end with the bogey on 17 and not taking advantage at the last, but overall, good day. I kept myself within touching distance and I have a good shot at it tomorrow, which is all I want.
"I think I even had two bogeys yesterday in the 63. If I can just limit the mistakes, there's enough good golf. There's enough birdies.
A third round 67 for Rory McIlroy and he's in the clubhouse at -16 ✍️#AbuDhabiChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/70fW9l9ZXl
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 7, 2026
"There's enough opportunities to make birdies out there with the par fives and a couple of the shorter par fours. If I can play a clean round of golf tomorrow, I won't be too far away."
He added: "I thought today could have been something similar (to Friday's 63) as well, but yeah, there hasn't been much wind. The course is in perfect condition.
"The pin positions were a little tougher today. I guess they felt like they were trying to protect the course a little bit and protect from some of the really low scores.
"But there's low ones out there and I'm going to have to go out and shoot a low one, something in the mid to low 60s to get it done tomorrow, and that will be the goal."
