Rory McIlroy Late Collapse Costs Abu Dhabi Round

A costly water hazard on the final hole derailed Rory McIlroy’s impressive comeback at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Saturday, leaving him five shots behind leader Paul Waring heading into Sunday’s finale.

The world No. 3 had been on fire, climbing within three shots of the lead after starting the day nine strokes back.

Then came the 18th hole.

McIlroy’s drive bounced off the rocks lining the fairway and splashed into the water. After taking a drop, he found the bunker with his approach shot and ended up with a deflating double-bogey 7.

“One mistake — that drive on 18. Untimely mistake,” McIlroy said after finishing with a 3-under 69. He’s now at 13-under for the tournament.

The error was especially painful because most players near the top of the leaderboard were struggling. Paul Waring, ranked just 229th in the world, shot a rare over-par round among the leaders with a 73.

Waring’s stumble left him clinging to a one-shot lead at 18-under overall. That’s quite a change from his record-setting first two rounds, when he posted the lowest 36-hole score to par in European tour history at 19-under.

“You’ve got to have an average day, haven’t you?” said Waring, who’s looking for the biggest win of his career at age 39. “If you’d given me a one-shot lead going into tomorrow at the start of the week, I’d snatch your hand off.”

Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard sits alone in second after shooting 69. A pack of proven winners – Tommy Fleetwood, Thorbjorn Olesen, Sebastien Soderberg and Shane Lowry – are tied for third.

For McIlroy, there’s more than just the tournament at stake. A win would give him his sixth Race to Dubai title, tying him with the legendary Seve Ballesteros and putting him within reach of Colin Montgomerie’s record eight titles.

“I dug myself a bit of hole to get out of,” McIlroy admitted. “But I go into tomorrow feeling like I have half a chance.”

He’ll need to avoid the water hazards that have plagued him this week – he also made triple bogey on the 17th hole Friday when his ball found the drink.