Dean Burmester held his own on Saturday alongside Masters champion Patrick Reed to set up a thrilling final round at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The South African birdied the 1st to settle any nerves and then his day got even better when he rolled in a 14-footer on the 2nd.
- Dylan Frittelli, now 20th, moved up 20 places after a Saturday 66
A bogey at the 6th was offset by birdies at the 7th and 9th as the 29-year-old kept his name on the first page of the stellar leaderboard.
England’s Matt Wallace, chasing his fourth win of the season, doubled the 8th to allow the chasing pack back within sight.
It was Reed, however, who took the gap as he rattled off birdies at the 11th, 13th, 14th and 16th to move out in front.
Burmester, who played in the penultimate group last year before finishing T4, made a six at the 14th after bunker trouble short of the green. He immediately got that back with a birdie at the next but missed chances at the 16th and could only three-putt the final green to finish two off the pace.
Joining the South African at -12 is overnight leader Wallace (71) and last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge winner Lee Westwood (65).
Between the final pair and Burmester’s group is Jordan Smith (69).
It will be an all-Masters final group after Danny Willett (68) birdied three in a row from the 14th to join Reed at -14.
The Englishman, one of five in the top eight, missed a golden opportunity to grab the lead from Reed but saw his birdie putt slide by the right.
A double drop on the par-three 17th all but ended Rory McIlroy’s bid to end his winless run on the European Tour which stretches over two years. The Northern Irishman is in the group at -9 alongside Alex Noren with Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm and Henrik Stenson at -10.
The Race to Dubai all but ended on Saturday as Tommy Fleetwood, needing to win, slumped to a 74 as he dropped into the group sharing 24th. He is one shot ahead of the champion-in-waiting Francesco Molinari (70).
