Alejandro del Rey will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship after firing a flawless 66 on Saturday to overtake Marcus Armitage at the summit.
Del Rey, who is searching for his maiden DP World Tour title, lived dangerously at times during round three but managed to keep the bogeys off his card as he moved to 16 under par ahead of Sunday’s fourth round.
South Africa’s Shaun Norris shares third position on nine under, five shots behind Del Rey, after carding a 69 that included four birdies and a bogey.
Del Rey had started the day two shots behind halfway leader Armitage but the 26-year-old was in front at the turn after carding three front-nine birdies.
And despite some errant tee-shots, Del Rey made further gains at the 14th, 17th and 18th to put more space between himself and closest challenger Armitage, who sits alone in second on 14 under after posting a two-under 70, five ahead of Jason Scrivener, Shaun Norris and David Ravetto in a tie for third.
Del Rey’s two-shot overnight deficit was extended to three early on Saturday as Armitage birdied the 1st but the Spaniard fought back, chipping in from just off the 2nd green before making it back-to-back birdies from close range at the 3rd to get within one shot of the lead.
And with Armitage dropping a shot on the 4th, Del Rey was handed a share of the lead before hitting the front on his own courtesy of a 10-foot birdie putt on the 8th.
Del Rey managed to safely par his way through the tricky stretch of holes around the turn before recovering from sending his tee-shot into the native area at the 14th to make a birdie there.
A good up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the 15th kept Del Rey in front, and he extended his lead at the 17th, with a shot-of-the-week contender from the native area setting up a close-range birdie.
And after flirting with the water with his tee-shot at the 18th, he managed to make another birdie to get to 16 under par.
Del Rey, who won the Big Green Egg German Challenge on the European Challenge Tour in 2022, said: “I’m very happy. I think I didn’t play probably as well as the last couple of days but I got away with a couple of shots that I missed and then my short game was amazing today. So very pleased.
“I think in my mind I put a number in my head and that’s where I wanted to get. It’s true that we [Del Rey and playing partner Armitage] are competing against each other but I think it’s mainly tomorrow when it’s down to one another.
“So today was more about doing my work and just sticking to it.
“I got a bit lucky today. I felt like the other days I left some shots around the golf course. Today, a couple of good bounces on the 12th, 18th and 10th probably.
“At the end of the day, yeah I got lucky but I took advantage very well of that. I left everything out there.
“I’ve won on many different Tours and places in the world and feel like I know how to get it done.
“You’ve just got to trust yourself and go out there and do your best. I think I know how to close out tournaments so I’ll try to do that tomorrow.”
Englishman Armitage said: “It was a bit different today but it’s golf, isn’t it. One day you feel like you’ve perfected it, the next day you feel like you’ve just started it again.
“My short game was fantastic today so that was a great positive from today and we go into tomorrow with a chance.
“New challenges today and I enjoyed it. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
“I can’t control what Alejandro does. He played fantastic today. Hit some incredible golf shots and I can’t control him, so I can only do what I can do. Hats off to him because he got the upper hand today.”
When asked what his game plan is for Sunday, Armitage added with a smile: “Get at him. Let’s have him. That’s the only thing, let’s have him.”
– Edited report from DP World Tour website
Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
