Dubai: Rory McIlroy admitted it would be a tall order to reclaim his Omega Dubai Desert Classic crown after falling eight shots off Danny Willett’s lead of 16 under par on Saturday.
The 2009 and 2015 winner is eight under par for the tournament and tied for 21st after rounds of 68, 72, 68.
It comes as a massive blow to the 26-year-old Northern Irishman who at the start of the tournament said he would be disappointed if he didn’t equal Ernie Els record of three Dubai titles this week.
“I’m expecting the leaders to get to 14 or 15 under par,” said the World No.2, speaking ahead of the completion of Willett’s third round. “Being seven back, it’s a tall order.
“I need to play the front nine much better than I have done the last couple of days,” he added, after carding one birdie, a bogey and a double bogey on the front nine and six birdies on his return, on Saturday.
“There’s more opportunities for birdies on the back nine but there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be playing better golf on the front nine. That’s really what’s cost me this week,” added the four-time Major winner, who has dropped eight of his total ten faults on the front nine this week.
“I’m not sure how far back I’ll be, but I might be just a few shots too far back to make that up on Sunday. It’s going to be a long shot. I came back from seven shots behind at Wentworth a couple of years ago, so it’s not out of the realms of possibility.
“But at the same time, it’s a great field here, and I need to play the front nine tomorrow [Sunday] just like I played the back nine today [Saturday], so we’ll see.”
