Rory McIlroy poised for shot at glory as he heads stellar field chasing down Justin Harding

On an Emirates course laden with happy memories, Rory McIlroy has a real chance to deliver an early season message of intent at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.

It was here that the Northern Irishman played in the same tournament as his hero Tiger Woods for the first time, literally half a lifetime ago in 2006, where he won his first professional title with a nerveless up and down at the last in 2009 and where he won again in 2015.

Now, as he embarks on arguably the most important campaign of his career, the 32-year-old has given himself a golden chance to get things off to a flier with a victory that truly would resonate around the world. 

Rory McIlroy is three shots behind leader Justin Harding going into the final day in Dubai

McIlroy shot a third round 69 in tricky conditions to lead no fewer than two-thirds of Europe’s last Ryder Cup team — plus the captain, Padraig Harrington — as they seek to chase down the pacemaker, South African Justin Harding, who leads by two strokes.

One shot behind McIlroy is Tommy Fleetwood, seeking the victory that would mean so much as he looks to kick start his career after a poor season last year. Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey and Bernd Wiesberger are a further shot adrift, followed by the two veterans, Harrington and Lee Westwood. Also in with a glimmer of a shout at six behind on a high-class leaderboard are Sergio Garcia and Viktor Hovland.

Hatton and Westwood were left smarting after the former played the last seven holes in four over — inexplicable, given how well he performed to that point — while Westwood took an eight down the 18th. After Hatton’s nine to conclude his third round in Abu Dhabi a week ago, what is it about English stars and long par five finishing holes at present?

‘It was painful to watch, especially as he’s a close friend of mine,’ said playing partner Casey of Westwood. 

Harding has a couple of titles but this would be another level entirely due to the quality of opposition

McIlroy has given himself a golden chance of getting his campaign up to a flyer in Dubai

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‘It’s so much worse when it’s the 18th and you’ve got no chance to recover. Normally I’d say he’d go straight to the bar and be over it in an hour but he’s having a dry January, so there’s not even the chance to drown his sorrows.’

It was not quite vintage McIlroy but there were a couple of drives to close out the round that underlined the extra gear he possesses.

Harding, 35, has a couple of titles to his credit, including one in the Middle East in Qatar, but this would be another level entirely if he were to hold on, especially against such talented opposition.

Just to complete the picture, weekends in Dubai have now moved from Friday and Saturday to Saturday and Sunday, meaning a bumper ex-pat crowd is guaranteed.

No prizes for guessing who will be the centre of attention.