🔗 Share this article McIlroy Holds Joint Top Spot While Nears Dubai Championship Rory McIlroy secured five under-par scores in his third round DP World Tour Championship Third-Round Standings -13 R McIlroy (NI), R Neergaard-Petersen (Den); -12 A Ayora (Spain), L Canter (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), T Fleetwood (Eng), T Hatton (Eng), R Hojgaard (Den) Notable scores: -11 L Aberg (Sweden), N Hojgaard (Denmark), J Rose (England); -10 S Lowry (Ireland), R MacIntyre (Sco); -8 J Parry (England); -4 M Penge (Eng) Rory McIlroy sank three under-par scores in the final five holes to move into the joint lead of the DP World Tour Championship and close in on a seventh year-end tour championship crown. McIlroy recorded a 68 in Dubai, in a performance including five birdies and a bogey to move to 13 under, joining Danish golfer Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. England's Laurie Canter (68), Fitzpatrick (66), Fleetwood (68) along with Tyrrell Hatton (67) are on 12-under-par, along with Spain's Angel Ayora (67) and Danish competitor Rasmus Hojgaard (65). "All in all, a challenging round," said McIlroy. "The conditions were tricky enough but happy to shoot my score." The 36-year-old has a 767-point lead in the season-long rankings as he goes for his fourth straight Race to Dubai crown. Hatton and fellow Englishman Penge are the sole players capable of preventing the Northern Irishman from winning the annual championship. Hatton needs to win this event and have McIlroy finish worse than tied for eighth to win it. "I'm in a better position than him [Hatton]," added the tournament leader. "My focus is on my game. If I go out and perform at the level that I'm capable of, particularly on this layout, I'm confident that I'll be OK. "It would be a fantastic manner to end the season." Penge shot a better 68 in round three following rounds of 74 and 70, yet appears unlikely to challenge on four under.