Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.
Mike Lorenzo-Vera misses his par putt on the 18th during the third round of the DP World Tour Championship Dubai

By Kent Gray
For a player who is 0-193 on the European Tour and has openly admitted he doubts his ability to win, Mike Lorenzo-Vera sure is faking the consummate front-runner role surprisingly well on Earth.

The Frenchman has a chance to become the DP World Tour Championship’s first wire-to-wire champion after backing up his sizzling opening 63 with a pair of 69s to share the 54- hole lead with Jon Rahm.

Lorenzo-Vera braced himself for the “big dogs to bite me” on moving day at Jumeirah Golf Estates but held his nerve – all the way to the 54th hole and his water ball off the tee at least – to keep himself atop the leaderboard.

The 34-year-old knows the blowtorch will intensify Sunday as the finish line of the Race to Dubai season, and its final, record $3 million purse, comes into view. Tied at the top on -15 after a 66, Rahm has not only done what Lorenzo-Vera has never done before, he’s done it here at JGE for one of his three Rolex Series titles and five European titles in all. Suddenly atop the projected Race to Dubai standings, the Spaniard won’t lack any motivation and is clearly the type of closer Lorenzo-Vera would love to become.

Rory McIlroy, bouncing back from his Friday 74 with a bogey-free 65 despite his own closing hole hijinks on Saturday, knows a thing or 27 (worldwide titles) about winning too, meaning the odds are stacked against the unheralded world No. 96. 

But the calculated way he negotiated Earth on Saturday, save for another last hole bogey, hints at Lorenzo-Vera perhaps, just maybe, getting over the finish line for the biggest moment of his career.

Nearly 200 events on the European Tour, four times a runner-up. What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt that you can use tomorrow?

“That you don’t control anything except your mind. That’s the only thing you can control tomorrow, so I just hope for the same game plan and let’s see if the golf wants to give me something.”

Good luck with that. Even Lorenzo-Vera can’t block all those greenbacks from his mind, as much as a thus far elusive win would probably mean as much.

“It is in my mind for sure. I mean, maybe tomorrow you shoot like six-under and then you put your family out of any trouble for the rest of your life. So of course it’s going to add some pressure. But I don’t know, man, I’ll really try to focus on the game. We’ll see. Hopefully I’ll be shaking for the good reasons.”

Lorenzo-Vera promised not to push too hard on moving day and did that with smart, playing mistake-free golf all the way up to the 18th tee. There was ample quality too, three birdies on the final four holes of the outward nine bolstering a steady start before a bonus birdie on 14 via the rough and a partially televised call of nature further in the bushes up the right-hand side of the par 5.

The bogey on 18 wasn’t quite the momentum he was looking for going into Sunday, a three-putt after he’d found the green in three despite his wet tee shot souring what had otherwise been a composed afternoon’s work.

“I think we messed up a bit with the choice of club off the tee on 18. That was not driver. It was a bit too aggressive, but, well, that’s the game and I tried my best. We know at least tomorrow in this wind it won’t be the driver on 18.

“Otherwise I think that I played better today than yesterday. Some better shots all day long.”

Lorenzo-Vera did play well but will surely struggle to sleep all night long with what is at stake.

“That’s one of the things I think about the most, to win in Dubai, only big names do it, and that would be really awesome for me for my confidence and my career to achieve that tomorrow would be really an awesome achievement.”

Few will give Lorenzo-Vera much of a chance, especially not with Rahm and Rory lurking. Maybe you can play like you’ve got nothing to lose? 

“ Well, I still have around 3 million to lose, maybe a little bit less. Yeah, mind-set is going to be the same. I’m going to try to be the most relaxed as I can, even if I won’t be, it’s going to be really a tough round.

“The guy [Rahm] has a collection of Rolex Series trophies and Rory and some other guys, if he shoots 7-, 8-under tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone does it.”