Jon Rahm took a one-shot lead into the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Saturday after a six-under-par 66 at Yas Links, setting up a Sunday finish with Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton in the last group. Rahm reached the outright lead with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 15th and closed without a dropped shot.
The result is live now because the tournament has narrowed to a single round, and the final pairing gives the chase a clear shape. McIlroy, who sits two shots back after a third-round 67, said he will need to go low again to have a chance, adding that a score in the mid to low 60s is the target if he is going to catch Rahm.
That makes the search around Rory McIlroy DP World Tour about more than a leaderboard line. McIlroy was in fourth place at 16 under after Saturday, yet he kept himself in the frame with eight birdies in the third round after opening the event with a two-shot penalty for improving his lie before taking a chip shot. He then answered that setback in the second round with 11 birdies in a 63, the sort of response that kept him close enough to matter going into Sunday.
The problem is that his third round was not clean enough to pull him level. A double bogey six at the par-four 10th stalled the momentum, and another dropped shot at the 17th left him still two behind when the round was done. Hatton, who had shared the overnight lead with Francesco Laporta before both carded 67s on Saturday, is also in the mix, which leaves Rahm with company rather than comfort at the top.
Rahm’s position carries its own weight. He has not won an individual tournament outside the LIV tour since the 2023 Masters, and this is his chance to end that wait on a course where he already held off a late push. But McIlroy’s own numbers suggest the contest is still open if he can find the round he described. The final answer will come from the same three players, back together on Sunday, with one shot separating first from second and no margin left for caution.
