Hatton takes lead as McIlroy slips at DP World Tour Championship in Dubai

Rory McIlroy faded while Tyrrell Hatton moved into the lead after the third round of the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course in Dubai on Saturday. McIlroy carded a 72 to fall four shots behind Hatton, who shot a four-under-par 68.

Hatton sits on nine under for the tournament, one stroke clear of France's Victor Perez, with Sweden's Mikael Lindberg third on six under. McIlroy is joint fourth in a group of four that includes Spain's Eugenio Chacarra, the current Race to Dubai standings leader. McIlroy's hopes of winning a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title faded after his third-round score; he began the tournament trailing Chacarra by more than 500 points and would clinch the title if he finishes ahead of Chacarra and in the top four.

McIlroy moved into the outright lead with an eagle three at the par-five seventh but dropped shots at the eighth, ninth and 10th holes. He responded with a birdie at the 14th, then bogeyed the 15th before finishing with a birdie at the par-five 18th after narrowly missing a six-foot eagle putt.

Hatton scrambled for a par at the 18th after driving into the water and finding a greenside bunker with his approach. He carded 68 on Saturday and will play alongside Perez, who shot a 67, in the final group on Sunday. "It would mean a lot to go on and win tomorrow," said Hatton. "There is a lot that can change. The course is playing difficult this week and there's a lot of fantastic players just behind. It is going to be a tough day."

Third-round leaderboard: -9 T Hatton (Eng); -8 V Perez (Fra); -6 M Lindberg (Swe); -5 A Scott (Aus), E Chacarra (Spa), F Laporta (Ita), R McIlroy (NI). Selected others: -4 D Bradbury (Eng), J Schaper (SA), K Reitan (Nor); -3 M Wallace (Eng), J Dean (Eng), J Rahm (Spa); +3 P Reed (US), T Fleetwood (Eng).

Jon Rahm fell six shots off the lead after carding a third consecutive 71. Chacarra recorded a 68 that included nine birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. McIlroy will play alongside Englishman Dan Bradbury, who climbed to four under with a 66, while Lindberg will be in the penultimate group with Australia's Adam Scott, who went round a 67.

The DP World Tour Championship concludes on Sunday, with final-round pairings led by Hatton and Perez; live text updates for the final round are available on the BBC Sport website and app on Sunday.