Andy Sullivan leads Matt Wallace by two shots after third round in Dubai
Former Ryder Cup star Andy Sullivan leads by two from fellow Englishman Matt Wallace heading into the final round in Dubai, while Robert MacIntyre charged into the mix after a sensational, outward 29.
By Keith Jackson
Last Updated: 05/12/20 10:59am
2:11
Andy Sullivan produced a strong finish to his third round to stay on course for a second win of the season at the Golf in Dubai Championship.
Leaderboard
Sullivan led by four strokes at the turn before Matt Wallace trimmed the deficit to one, but a birdie at the 17th restored Sullivan's two-shot advantage as he fired a 68 to post 21 under par through 54 holes.
Wallace returned a 67 to head the chasing pack on another day of low scoring over the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with Ross Fisher (68) and Renato Paratore (65) three behind going into Saturday's final round.
1:26 Three ahead overnight, Sullivan matched Wallace's birdie at the first and picked up further shots at the fifth and seventh after Robert MacIntyre had stormed into contention with a stunning, outward 29.
The Scot birdied the opening five holes and added an eagle at the seventh to race to 16 under par, although he was not able to maintain his prodigious scoring after his momentum came to a shuddering halt with a three-putt double-bogey at the short 11th.
Wallace bogeyed the ninth to leave Sullivan four clear at the halfway stage, but the leader dropped only his second shot of the tournament at the 10th as Wallace birdied and picked up further gains at the 12th and 14th to pull within one of his English rival.
The pair traded birdies at 16, while Sullivan added another at the next before both missed out on closing fours at the par-five last, leaving Sullivan in prime position to emulate his English Championship victory in August.
"I'm happy with four under," said the 2016 Ryder Cup star. "I didn't think I played brilliant golf. Started off really nicely front nine, played really solid, but 10 through to 14 I didn't swing it that great, didn't give myself that many chances.
"I found some good swings coming in, which was really good, dug deep there and managed to get a few birdies coming home. Four under is a pretty fair reflection on how I played."
Wallace added: "I'm two behind a Ryder Cup player, someone who is playing really well. I'm going to have to go really low tomorrow. It's not just him, someone could come from 15, 16 and shoot nine or 10 under.
"You've seen out there, Robert Macintyre was seven under through nine, so that can happen. Hopefully it can be me, but I'm just going to relax now and get ready for the fight tomorrow."
British Masters champion Paratore moved smoothly to 18 under after handing in a seven-birdie card free of any blemishes, while Fisher remained three adrift of Sullivan after carding five birdies and a lone bogey in his 68.
MacIntyre came home in 37 and had to be content with a 66 that he "enjoyed it as much as I could but to finish the way I did wasn't so sweet", leaving him five shots off the pace heading into the final round.
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