Alejandro del Rey credited his sharp short game as he moved into a two-stroke lead ahead of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship’s final round, while Pádraig Harrington again suffered a costly finish to card a 73.
The Dubliner made nothing of any real length on day two, and when he missed a three-footer for par on the opening green in round three, the signs looked ominous. But he regrouped to par the next three before opening his birdie account from the fringe on five and then rolled in a 12-footer for back-to-back birdies on the next. His third birdie came courtesy of two-putts on the par-5 eighth, but a heavy-handed pitch on nine led to his second bogey and he slipped back to -1 for the day.
After four pars to start the back, a birdie on 14 got him back to -3 for the tournament, but another short par miss on 15 was followed by another bogey on 16 and a wayward lay up to the par-5 closing hole forced a sideways chip from the rocks and lead to another bogey, dropping him back to +1 for the day and level-par for the tournament.
Spaniard del Rey started the day two shots behind Englishman Marcus Armitage but flipped the advantage with a sizzling round of 66 to move two clear on 16 under par, setting up an intriguing final day battle as the duo pulled clear of the chasing pack, which sits five strokes behind Armitage’s 14-under.
England’s Armitage was the first to make his move on Saturday at Al Hamra Golf Club, birdieing the first to extend his advantage, but del Rey bit back with successive gains at the second and third, before taking the lead with a birdie at the par five eighth.
Both men traded pars from the ninth and matched each other’s birdies at the 14th, but the 2022 Big Green Egg German Challenge winner almost holed his second at the par four 17th and tapped in the birdie to move two clear.
The 26-year-old then took advantage of a healthy slice of luck at the last, with his ball somehow staying out of the water off the tee, allowing him the opportunity to hit a wonderful three wood into the mouth of the green, setting up a simple up and down to put the finishing touches to a bogey-free 66.
“I’m very happy” said del Rey afterwards. “I think I didn’t play probably as well as the last couple of days but I got away with a couple of shots that I missed and then my short game was amazing today. So very pleased.
“I think in my mind I put a number in my head and that’s where I wanted to get. It’s true that we are competing against each other but I think it’s mainly tomorrow when it’s down to one another. So today was more about doing my work and just sticking to it.”
The Spaniard will tomorrow go in search of his maiden DP World Tour title, having claimed the 54-hole lead for the first time in his career, but Armitage is not going to go out without a fight.
“I can’t control what Alejandro does,” he admitted. “He played fantastic today. Hit some incredible golf shots and I can’t control him, so I can only do what I can do. Hats off to him because he got the upper hand today.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle all day. I whacked it ten feet past and I’m like, oh no. But I holed the putt there, then great wedge shot into the last and it’s just got me a bit closer going into tomorrow. So yeah, let’s have it.”
Everything points towards a two-horse race for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, but Australia’s Jason Scrivener put himself into contention with a seven under 65 to move to nine under, later being joined by South Africa’s Shaun Norris and Frenchman David Ravetto in a tie for third.
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