Luke Donald. Photo / AP
Englishman aims to become first to land both European and US money titles
It's over. Luke is in a great position and he's played great the past couple of days.Rory McIlroy Luke Donald lies fourth going into the final round in Dubai. Picture / APDUBAI - Englishman Luke Donald is on the verge of becoming the first golfer to win the European and American money titles.
Donald shot a six-under 66 in the third round of the Dubai World Championship to trail leader Alvaro Quiros by four strokes going into the final round.
As Donald climbed the leaderboard, Rory McIlroy headed the other way to all but end his chances of overtaking the top-ranked Englishman on the European money list.
The US Open champion had a shaky one under 71 to drop into a tie for eighth.
"It's over," a dejected McIlroy said. "Luke is in a great position and he's played great the past couple of days. I expect him to go out and shoot another very solid round tomorrow and wrap things up."
The big-hitting Quiros shot a 70 to total 14-under 202 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
He leads Paul Lawrie (66) by two strokes while 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizien is a shot further back.
Donald, who wrapped up the American money title in October, is fourth.
Several other high-profile players - including No 4-ranked Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia and England's Paul Casey - also moved into contention. Kaymer tied the course record with a 64 for a share of eighth place with McIlroy, Casey and Garcia.
Despite his strong finish, Donald said he was not about to start celebrating just yet.
"I would be foolish to think it's over," Donald said. "Tomorrow it will be just like any other day in terms of focus. I will be trying to catch whomever is the leader and trying to win the tournament."
Donald said the key to his rise from 26th spot after the first round was his short game, a noted strength that helped him win the BMW PGA Championship among four tournament victories this year.
He beat Lee Westwood in a playoff at Wentworth to take top spot.
Donald opened yesterday with a birdie on a hole he had bogeyed the first two days, and then had three more birdies on the front nine. He slowed down on the back nine but birdied two of the last four holes. McIlroy made a poor start and had a bogey and a double-bogey on his front nine.
The 52nd-ranked Quiros, who led going into the final round last week in Hong Kong only to lose to McIlroy, had a rollercoaster round in which at times it appeared he might falter again.
Leading by four after the second round, Quiros opened with a bogey after an errant drive into the rough, only to recover with a birdie on the second hole. He had another bogey on the fourth before a birdie two holes later and then an eagle on the seventh.
The topsy-turvy round continued on the back nine, with two birdies and two bogeys, one after three-putting on the 18th. AP
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