McIlroy, Donald set for showdown

Billed as the “Greatest Weekend on Earth”, the DP World Tour Championship goes into its final round today with Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald - ranked one and two in the world - tied for the lead and set for a winner-takes-all showdown. Donald’s long-standing love affair with the Earth course continued on Saturday with the Englishman’s bogey free round of 66 ending with a birdie on the 18th, his 100th consecutive hole without dropping a shot over the Jumeirah Golf Estates course. But that remarkable statistic has failed to daunt World Number One McIlroy whose own third round of 66 means the pair go into the final day of the $8 million tournament tied on seventeen under par, three shots ahead of South African Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen. “It’s an incredible statistic but logically it means he is due a bogey,” smiled McIlroy, already confirmed as this year’s Race to Dubai winner. “Hopefully that will come tomorrow. But I am really looking forward to going out with Luke tomorrow. I’m excited by it and I am sure a lot of other people are too.” A superb back nine of 31, featuring an eagle and three birdies, saw McIlroy claw back Donald’s advantage after the Englishman had forged a three shot lead over the front nine and gives the finale of The European Tour season the Sunday Showdown everyone wanted. The last time Donald dropped a shot on the 7,675-yard course came at the eighth hole in the second round a year ago — but even after the subsequent 32 birdies and 68 pars last year’s Race to Dubai champion believes today’s showdown is far from a two-horse race. “We can’t afford to get complacent out there as there are some great players right behind us,” said Donald.