Aaron Rai will take a narrow one-shot lead into the final round of the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 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.
Two-time former champion Fleetwood made an eagle and three birdies in his flawless 67, while Højgaard's 65 featured eight birdies and one bogey.
Nacho Elvira was another shot further back on 18 under after his birdie-birdie finish.
Rai, whose last DP World Tour win came at the 2020 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, opened his birdie account from four feet at the second to remain tied at the top with Fleetwood before grabbing the solo lead courtesy of a 23-footer on the next.
After saving par from five feet on the tricky fourth, the World Number 30 stretched his advantage to two shots with a ten-foot birdie on the fifth.
He made another on the long seventh but was joined on 18 under by Højgaard following the Dane's birdie at the ninth.
Rai was soon back in front on his own, though, after capitalising on a delightful approach on the ninth to lead by one shot at the turn.
Højgaard caught him once more but Rai was up to the challenge, regaining the solo lead with a close-range birdie on the 11th before holing from 15 feet at the 14th to move two ahead on 21 under.
That soon became a three-shot lead as Højgaard bogeyed the 16th but, with Rai dropping his first shot at the 17th and both Højgaard and Fleetwood birdieing the last, he had to make do with a one-shot lead.
Rai, who already has one Rolex Series win to his name, knows how big an achievement it would be to get another on Sunday.
He said: "This is a huge event. This is one of the biggest events we have on the DP World Tour.
"To win this week, to have a chance going into the weekend, is great.
"Still a long way to go and a lot of really good players. Yeah, we'll give it our best and see how it comes."
Speaking about his day's work, Rai added: "A really good round overall. Drove it extremely well. Some really good iron play. Created a lot of chances.
"I felt like I rolled it really well on the greens. A lot of putts had a good chance of going in.
"The wind definitely picked up for us on the back nine. Yeah, it played tricky out there, especially the back nine."
