Lee Westwood surges to the top of the leaderboard after third round in Dubai Desert Classic
World number three Lee Westwood has taken over the offensive and is now leading the Omega Dubai Desert Classic through the third round.
The Englishman pulled in a glamorous five-under, 67 on the third day to reinforce his blistering seven-under, 65 on the second.
He is now leading the event by one stroke from the nearest contenders Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Stephen Gallacher and Marcel Siem, all poised at 14-under on the aggregate.
A satisfied Westwood said, “I played nicely again. Very solid. It was a little bit tougher today, with a tad more breeze up and I guess a few tighter flags. But I coped fairly well with that and 67 is probably about the worst it could have been”.
Westwood cleared all the speculations that he has been struggling with a neck and elbow injury since the second round in season-opener Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
He posted stunning rounds in the star-studded event in Dubai to grab the lead.
He will be hoping to pull in an early victory to strengthen his position on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), after slipping to the third place following Rory McIlroy’s strong performances earlier in the season.
Westwood started off with three birdies on the opening four holes, sending a strong signal to the rest of the field in the event. He rallied ahead with a bogey-birdie-bogey to make the turn.
He again pulled in three birdies on the opening four holes of the back nine to finish off with five-under, 67.
He added, “I got off to a very good start, three under after four, rolled the ball well on the greens and hit a lot of good quality iron shots. I know how to play with the lead. It's a habit. You get used to it”.
Another three players are resting on the joint second on a congested leaderboard.
McIlroy had a disappointing third day on the course, with a level-par round that pushed him down the leaderboard, tied for fifth.
Martin Kaymer, who is also enjoying a rejuvenated form after a surprise collapse in the Abu Dhabi, finished for a joint fifth alongside McIlroy.
He will be hoping to land the title before the European Tour calendar moves to continental Europe.
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