After three rounds of the Rolex Series competition, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari, and Min Woo Lee are tied for the lead with scores of 13 under. Padraig Harrington is only two strokes back.
Going into the last round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the DP World Tour, Shane Lowry, and Francesco Molinari are sharing the lead with another player.
At the Yas Links Abu Dhabi, Lowry and Min Woo Lee both shot a third-round score of 66 to join Molinari on 13 under heading into the final day. Molinari shot a three-under 69 to maintain his overnight lead.
Grant Forrest of Scotland, who is tied for fourth place with Sebastian Soderberg and Victor Perez, is a shot back. Padraig Harrington improved his chances of being the oldest victor in DP World Tour history with a final-round 64.
Along with Antoine Rozner, Adrian Meronk, and halfway leader Guido Migliozzi, Harrington sits two strokes behind the lead. The Rolex Series event’s last day is expected to be exciting, with 15 players within three strokes of the lead.
When Lowry took advantage of the par-five second, holed out for an eagle at the par-four sixth from 155 yards out, and then birdied two of his next three holes to finish with a score of 31, he rapidly moved into contention. Lowry was three off the lead at the halfway point.
The Irishman missed a close-range birdie opportunity at the 14th hole but made up for it by making a 35-foot putt on the following hole to temporarily take the lead alone. Lowry made up for a failed bunker attempt and bogey at the 17th hole by making a birdie on the par-five 18th hole.
Tomorrow, Lowry remarked, “I have an opportunity to go out there and do something amazing.” I’m hoping to bring the same game that I brought the last three days and make a few putts as well.
In order to tie Lowry for the lead, Lee made seven birdies and just one bogey. Meanwhile, Molinari, who is attempting to win for the first time since March 2019, trailed by a stroke throughout most of the back nine before making a birdie on the last hole.
With a seven-under-65, Forrest will exit in the last group. Soderberg will also exit in that group despite shooting a third-round 66, which included a triple-bogey at the par-three eighth.
The greatest move of the day was made by Harrington, who made six straight birdies after chipping in for a birdie at the sixth hole. The three-time major champion then holed it from 25 feet at the eleventh.
To become the oldest winner would mean a great deal to Harrington. “I genuinely believe it would mean something completely different if I went and won right now. That would indicate that I truly enjoy competition.
“If I go and steal a win someplace, that’s wonderful, I can put it on my resume as the oldest winner, but if I go into tournaments talking a big game and deliver, that means I’m a player again with the young guys.”
