Prior to the DP World Tour Championship, Rory McIlroy rated his 2023 season 7 out of 10, with the Northern Irishman picking up a number of titles, including another Ryder Cup and Race to Dubai trophy.
Along with the victories, the four-time Major winner has been struggling with some slight injuries, such as a back problem prior to the Tour Championship. As well as the back injury, the Northern Irishman revealed after his third round of the DP World Tour Championship that he has been battling a wrist problem, claiming he "jammed it" a few weeks ago.
Firing a seven-under-par round of 65 at the Earth Course in Dubai, McIlroy stated: "I haven't done much at all after the Ryder Cup. You know, tried to put in a little bit of practise over the last couple of weeks. But I sort of jammed my wrist, as well, a couple weeks ago and that sort of limited how many balls I hit, too. Yeah, just sort of came in not as prepared as I could have been or should have been, but feel like I'm starting to find my feet a little bit after a few days."
Paired with Matt Fitzpatrick on Saturday, the duo, who actually played together on the Friday and Saturday afternoon at the Ryder Cup, both produced excellent third rounds in Dubai, with the pair carding a 65 (McIlroy) and a 67 (Fitzpatrick).
"Yeah. Fitz and I sort of had it going on the back nine there, we both shot 5-under, which for me is a nice turnaround from how I played the back nine the first two days. It was a good score," explained McIlroy, who last won this event back in 2015. "For me, I felt like it was similar enough the last couple days but I just didn't make any mistakes, and then it was obviously really nice to finish the way I did with the birdie on 17."
Going into the final day of the DP World Tour Championship, a number of big names are in contention, with the likes of Viktor Hovland, Nicolai Hojgaard and Tommy Fleetwood all close to the top of the leaderboard.
However, the third round belonged to Matt Wallace on Saturday, who birdied every hole on the back nine for an incredible 27. That, combined with three birdies on the front nine, meant the Englishman carded a 12-under-par round of 60, with his run of birdies on the back nine equalling the record set by James Nitties in 2019.
