Jon Rahm leads Abu Dhabi Championship by one shot, Rory McIlroy two back after round three

Rahm moves ahead at Yas Links

Jon Rahm, a 31-year-old Spaniard and two-time major champion, shot a six-under-par 66 on Saturday, 7 November, to take the outright lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship. He started slowly, then went five-under through nine holes, with an eagle sandwiched between birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes. His 18-under total of 198 left him one shot clear of Tyrrell Hatton and Francesco Laporta, who each shot 67 and are on 17-under. Rahm reclaimed the outright lead on the 15th after Hatton had briefly moved level with him on the 14th. Rahm is chasing his first solo tournament win since winning the Masters in 2023, and he has said he does not know what 2027 holds after quitting the LIV tour.

Jon Rahm-18

Tyrrell Hatton-17

Francesco Laporta-17

Rory McIlroy-16

Adam Scott-15

Jon Rahm

-18 strokes relative to par

Tyrrell Hatton

-17 strokes relative to par

Francesco Laporta

-17 strokes relative to par

Rory McIlroy

-16 strokes relative to par

Adam Scott

-15 strokes relative to par

Data from the article text

McIlroy's double bogey and late bogey

Rory McIlroy, the Masters champion, shot a five-under 67 on Saturday, 7 November, with eight birdies. A double-bogey six on the par-four 10th cost him ground after his bunker shot came out faster than he expected and ran over the back of the green. From the rough he needed four more shots to get down from 20 yards. He also dropped a shot on the par-three 17th, where he found the bunker and could not reach the green. McIlroy finished on 16-under, two shots behind Rahm, after a 352-yard drive over the water on the 14th had put him level with the lead for a moment. His second-round 63, with 11 birdies, and a two-shot penalty in the opening round for improving his lie before a chip shot have made his tournament a story of big swings.

McIlroy described his mood after the round.

“I played some really good golf out there but I'm also a little rueful.”

He said he needs to limit his mistakes on Sunday. McIlroy has said he expects to need something in the mid to low 60s to catch Rahm.

“If I can just limit the mistakes, there's enough good golf.”

Chasing pack and Sunday's final group

Hatton and Laporta, both on 17-under, are the closest challengers to Rahm. Hatton, a Ryder Cup team-mate of Rahm and McIlroy, holed his seventh birdie of the day on the 14th. Adam Scott is fifth on 15-under after a 66 that kept his tournament bogey-free, while David Puig and Matthew Jordan are on 14-under. Rahm, Hatton and Laporta will play together in the final group on Sunday, 8 November. Hatton has said he expects the three of them to want to beat each other, and he hopes to start well and put Rahm under pressure early.

Order of merit and the Race to Dubai

McIlroy is chasing a record-equalling eighth DP World Tour order of merit title, and the Abu Dhabi event is the penultimate tournament in the Race to Dubai, which wraps up after the Tour Championship. Eugenio Chacarra retains the top spot in the projected rankings after a 67 on Saturday, 7 November, which put him tied for 29th on 8-under. McIlroy has moved up to second in the projected order, leapfrogging Patrick Reed, who carded a two-under 70 and is tied for 51st. The 70 players who entered the $9 million Abu Dhabi Championship played two weeks of playoffs, and the top 50 advance to the $10 million finals event in Dubai.