Everything you need to know from Saturday's play at the penultimate Rolex Series event of the season.
Fast starts and big moves were on the menu during the third round of the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Here is everything you need to know from Saturday's play at the penultimate Rolex Series event of the season.
Rai leads by one
Aaron Rai takes a narrow one-shot lead into the final round as he goes in search of his first DP World Tour title in five years. The Englishman shared the halfway lead with countryman Tommy Fleetwood on 14 under par but put his foot to the floor in perfect scoring conditions on Saturday to hit the front on his own. Rai turned in 31 after picking up five shots on the front nine, before adding further birdies at the 11th and 14th, with his only bogey of the day coming on the 17th. He had led by three during the closing stages of his round but a late bogey and strong finishes from the chasing pack ate into his advantage. His third-round 66 sees him go into Sunday's fourth round on 20 under par, one clear of nearest challengers Fleetwood and Nicolai Højgaard.
Hatton's hot start
Tyrrell Hatton said he made a "pretty amazing start" on Saturday, and perhaps that's an understatement. He opened with back-to-back eagles before adding birdies on the third and fourth to be six under through four holes. A 15-footer at the seventh then took him to within one shot of the lead before the final group had teed off. The Ryder Cup star made further gains at the 13th and 16th before closing his round with a bogey to head into the final round on 14 under par. He said: "I got off to a pretty amazing start, which was really nice after yesterday's finish. I was delighted with that."
Sterne's excellent eagle
Speaking of making the perfect start... Richard Sterne holed his approach shot from the fairway at the first for an excellent eagle to get his third round off to a flier. Check this out.
Fleetwood's fine form continues
Tommy Fleetwood said "these are the times of our lives" after continuing his fine recent form with a third-round 67 to sit one shot off the lead ahead of the final round. The Englishman is enjoying a spectacular year, having ended his long wait for a first PGA TOUR title at the Tour Championship to capture the FedExCup in August, played a key role in Europe's historic away Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black in September and won the DP World India Championship last month. Fleetwood, who won this event in 2017 and 2018, made an eagle and three birdies in his flawless 67 on Saturday. He said: "I've been saying the whole time, I'm playing very good golf at the moment, and I've found myself in this position a lot throughout the summer, but never take it for granted. This is what we practise for. These are the times of our lives, and I'm enjoying it very much."
Elvira sends the crowd wild
Nacho Elvira had an outside birdie chance at the 17th after sending his tee-shot to 40 feet. And he only went and holed it, much to the delight of both himself and the crowd.
