Rory McIlroy rues double-bogey as Jon Rahm leads heading into final round in Abu Dhabi

Leading heading into the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship, Jon Rahm shot a six-under-par 66, putting himself one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy and Tyrell Hatton, who are tied at 17-under after round three. The 31-year-old Spaniard's performance on the back nine, including an eagle between two birdies on holes 10, 11, and 12, helped him go five-under for the first nine holes.

McIlroy, who hit eight birdies during the day, expressed disappointment over a double-bogey on the 10th hole that derailed his bid to match Rahm's lead. Despite the setback, McIlroy praised his fight back and said: "I played some really good golf out there but I’m also a little rueful. 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."

He added, "If I can just limit the mistakes, there’s enough good golf. There’s enough birdies. There’s enough opportunities. I can play a clean round of golf tomorrow, I won’t be too far away." McIlroy sits five strokes behind leader Rahm, while Adam Scott is in fifth place and David Puig and Matthew Jordan are a shot further back at 14-under.