DP World Tour Championship third round standings
-9 T Hatton (English); -8 V Perez (Fra); -6 M Lindberg (Sweden); -5 A Scott (Aus), E Chacarra (Spa), F Laporta (Ita), R McIlroy (NI)
Others selected: -4 D Bradbury (eng), J Schaper (SA), K Reitan (north); -3 M Wallace (Engr.), J Dean (Engr.), J Rahm (Spa); +3 P Reed (USA), T Fleetwood (England)
Complete ranking
Rory McIlroy’s hopes of winning a record eighth Race to Dubai title faded as he fell four shots behind leader Tyrrell Hatton after three rounds of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Northern Irishman McIlroy started Saturday tied for the lead with Hatton but, while the Englishman remained at the top of the field with a four-under-par 68, McIlroy fell with a 72 at the Earth Course in Dubai.
Hatton, at nine under for the tournament, holds a one-shot lead over Frenchman Victor Perez as he bids to win his first DP World Tour championship, while Swede Mikael Lindberg is third at six under.
McIlroy is fourth in a group of four players which includes Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, current leader of the Race to Dubai rankings.
McIlroy, a six-time major champion, began the tournament more than 500 points behind Chacarra, but knowing a victory would guarantee him an eighth season crown to match the total set by Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie.
McIlroy also has a chance to win the title if he finishes in the top four and Chacarra falls down the order.
He took the lead with an eagle three at the par-five seventh, before bogeys at the eighth, ninth and 10th.
A birdie at the 14th was followed by another dropped shot at the 15th, but McIlroy finished with a birdie at the par-five 18th after narrowly missing a six-foot eagle putt.
Hatton scrambled a par at the last after entering the water and finding a greenside bunker with his approach shot.
He will play alongside Perez, who scored a 67, on the final day.
“It would mean a lot to go on and win tomorrow,” Hatton said.
“A lot can change. The course is tough this week and there are a lot of fantastic players right behind. It’s going to be a tough day.”
Spaniard Jon Rahm, who could clinch the Race to Dubai title with victory on Sunday, fell six shots behind with a third consecutive 71.
Chacarra, four shots adrift after two rounds, shot a 68 that included nine birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
McIlroy will play alongside England’s Dan Bradbury, who climbed to four under with a superb 66.
Chacarra, four shots adrift after two rounds, shot a 68 that included nine birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
Lindberg will play in the penultimate group alongside Australian 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott, who shot a round of 67.
Follow live text updates from the final round of the DP World Tour Championship on the BBC Sport website and app on Sunday.
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