If any of what follows looks and sounds familiar, that’s because it is. In more ways than one, this was Groundhog Day minus Bill Murray.
Exactly 12 months on from his identical twin, Nicolai’s, victory in this DP World Tour Championship, Rasmus Hojgaard is tied for the lead with 18 holes to play. The younger of the Danish brothers, “by a few minutes,” is 12 under par alongside Antoine Rozner of France and the man who has seemingly spent the whole of 2024 hanging around leaderboards all over the world, Rory McIlroy.
Still, while it would be easy to imagine the eventual champion in this $10 million season-ending event will come from that leading trio, much talent lurks not too far behind. Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton, Keita Nakajima, Adam Scott and Shane Lowry will all tee-up on Day 4 within five shots of the pacesetters.
The pursuers will surely also take at least some heart from the fact that only one of the three men leading the way finished his third round in fine fettle. While Rozner was all smiles after a closing eagle on the par-5 18th that got him round in 69, Hojgaard and McIlroy had obvious regrets.
“The eagle on last helped me big time,” Rozner confirmed. “I’m happy with my day overall. I didn’t produce my best golf of the week so far, but I was always hanging in there. I think shooting in the 60s here is good. It’s always good. So I have to be happy with the score for sure.”
Not so the other two.
Having reached 12 under par when he made his sixth birdie of the day as early as the eighth hole, Hojgaard was thereafter becalmed in the blustery conditions. Ten consecutive pars completed his six-under 66.
“On the front nine, I was just trying to ride the wave a little bit and see how many birdies I could make,” he said. “Obviously I got a little quiet on the last nine holes.”
McIlroy was similarly a little peeved at the conclusion of a 68 marred by a brace of bogeys and a disappointing finish. With only a 6-iron in his hands, the four-time major champion missed the par-5 18th green from the middle of the fairway and failed to get up-and-down for birdie from a greenside bunker.
“Bittersweet” was understandably McIlroy’s overall feeling, even if he is all but a racing certainty to clinch his sixth Race to Dubai title come Sunday evening at the conclusion of what will be his last competitive round of 2024. The only man who could prevent that eventuality by winning this week, Thriston Lawrence, is tied for a distant 17th place, eight shots off the pace
“After making birdie on 12, I had a few good chances,” said the Northern Irishman. “I hit a really good shot into 13 and just caught the edge of the cup with my putt. The 14th and 15th are birdie holes, but I wasn’t able to make birdie on either. And not making birdie on 18, was deflating as well. I was ready to hit my second shot, but the group in front weren’t really hurrying to get off the green. I felt like I had to wait and I let it affect me a little bit. So yes, I’m a little disappointed with how I played those last five holes. But I’m still obviously in a really good position heading into tomorrow.”
The lesson? Always finish on a positive note, no matter what.
