World No.4 golfer Henrik Stenson is on track to defend his title at the DP World Tour Championship, but will have to shake off a red-hot Rafael Cabrera-Bello after Saturday’s third round.
The Spanish world No.104 shot a seven-under-par 65 – the low round of the day for a second successive day – and finished on 14-under 202 after 54 holes, the same as Stenson, who fired a bogey-free 68.
The duo are three clear of Englishman Justin Rose, who leads the chasing pack at 205 following a round of 68.
World No.1 Rory McIlroy again endured a difficult day. The 2012 champion, already confirmed as the European No.1 for the season by winning the Race to Dubai, made rare back-to-back double-bogeys en route to a two-under 70.
McIlroy will start the final round four shots behind Stenson and Cabrera-Bello, tied for fourth on 10-under with Frenchman Victor Dubuisson (67), England’s Tyrell Hatton (68) and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen (69).
Stenson battled early in the day, when he three-putted for par from 20 feet on the par-5 second, before a chip-in for his first birdie on the fourth.
The 38-year-old then made three birdies coming in for his 68.
Stenson, yet to win a tournament this year despite a solid season, said: “It’s a great championship, this one, and of course it would mean a lot to me to defend, and to get a win this season.
“It’s still been a good one but still, at the end of the year when we assess it, we will always look at the trophies and there has not been any yet.
“We’ll try and make it happen, but there are a lot of strong players out there and Rafa seems to be on fire. We’ll see if we can hold him off tomorrow.”
Cabrera-Bello, who needed just 21 putts in his round, finished with four birdies in his last five holes.
And the Spaniard said his strong short game saved what could have been an ugly round.
“It’s been a little crazy round, because I haven’t felt I’ve played perfect at all. I had to work really, really hard, especially at the beginning.
“I just managed to hang in there,” said the 2012 Desert Classic winner.
“… short game and putting has been unbelievable, probably the best day of my life for short game.”
McIlroy said he felt like he played better than the previous round, even though he scored the same.
“The 12th and 13th, obviously, ruined that scorecard a little bit. If I had not had those two holes, I would be right up there in the lead.
“It makes life a little more difficult for myself tomorrow but, hopefully, I can get off to a fast start and try to put pressure on the guys ahead of me.”
Australian Wade Ormsby is 11 shots off the lead on 213 after rounds of 73, 71 and 69.
