Rory McIlroy need not have bothered expressing a belief of being “rejuvenated and refocused”. Demonstration of that has been delivered in Abu Dhabi, with McIlroy’s round-by-round improvement.
From the earlier position of the 28-year-old’s fitness and attitude being questioned, it would now be a disappointment if McIlroy does not mark this return to competitive action with victory.
He will begin the fourth round one shot from the lead – held jointly by Thomas Pieters and Ross Fisher – after backing up the promise of a 69 and a 66 with a 65. Fisher, who also signed for a third-round 65, has Pieters for company at 17 under par.
McIlroy is quite right to point to the long game, of setting standards on this comeback he hopes will resonate for the remainder of his career. Still, there is little doubt plenty of people have eyes fixed on the potentially seismic story of a first victory after 16 injury-disrupted months.
“It was another great round and another really good confidence builder,” McIlroy said. “Not just for this week but for the rest of the season. Winning would mean a lot. I’ve had a lot of close calls here, about six top-threes or something like that.
“I’ve never won my first start back out. It’s felt like a while since I’ve won and just to give myself these chances; I gave myself a chance at the end of the year [in the British Masters] at Close House and wasn’t able to do it. Paul Dunne played too well for me. I’m excited to get back on the horse.
“I felt really comfortable, really relaxed. I haven’t been looking at leaderboards too much. Just been trying to play my game and it’s going pretty well so far, so I’ll try to do the same thing.”
The third round witnessed vintage McIlroy, not just in terms of scoring but creativity. One of the game's natural artists had worried in recent times he was becoming one dimensional, with that fear sufficient for the four-times major champion to mix up his practice regime. The result is already obvious, with McIlroy displaying the range of shots that set him apart from so many others.
“I hit a little eight iron into 14, which was probably a nine-iron yardage,” McIlroy said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with it so I just sawed off a little eight iron. I’m really comfortable with those shots. Those are shots I worked on a lot over the last three months.”
A McIlroy run without a dropped shot reached hole 51 before trouble ensued. He found the greenside bunker at the 15th, from where there was precious little green to work. McIlroy took two to get out of the trap, rendering his four – as completed from the fringe of the green – a decent effort. On the 17th, McIlroy chipped in for a birdie to offset the earlier and minor damage.
Dustin Johnson’s 68 means he is not out of the equation at minus 12. Matthew Fitzpatrick, who is alongside Tommy Fleetwood at 15 under, blasted himself firmly into the mix with a 63. Fitzpatrick branded himself lucky, saying: “I holed every putt.”
That has not been the story for McIlroy, which should endorse his status as the player to watch on Sunday. His most meaningful statement of intent for quite some time is within 18 holes of delivery.
