Justin Harding keeping calm in face of stellar contenders at Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic

South African holds two-shot lead at 54-hole stage, with Rory McIlroy his closest challenger

Justin Harding of South Africa on the ninth hole during day three of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on Saturday, January 29, 2022. Getty

Justin Harding tees off on the 15th hole during day three of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Justin Harding hits his third shot on the 18th hole during day three of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks off the 18th hole with his caddie at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Rory McIlroy hits an approach shot during day three of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. Getty

Tyrrell Hatton of England reacts to a putt on the 18th during day three of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Tyrrell Hatton of England hits his second shot on the 15th hole during the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Getty

Look over his shoulder at Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic chasing pack, and Justin Harding could be forgiven for feeling more than a little anxious when he tees it up on Sunday.

The South African heads into the denouement at Emirates Golf Club with a two-shot lead following a gutsy one-under par 71 on Saturday, but there are plenty of starry challengers well within reach.

He has two for company in the final three-ball: Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion and twice winner of the event, while Tommy Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai champion, makes up the trio.

At 10-under par, McIlroy is the closest man to Harding, and undeniably the grandest threat. Fleetwood sits on 9-under alongside another South African, Erik van Rooyen.

Van Rooyen's penultimate group also contains Paul Casey, the tournament's defending champion, and a Tyrrell Hatton seeking a record fifth Rolex Series victory. Those two are part of a 6-man band only four back.

After that? Well, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington and three-time European Order of Merit winner Lee Westwood, no less, on 7-under.

Yet Harding, who has two wins thus far on the circuit, didn’t seem too fussed about what lay ahead on Sunday.

“Just another day at the office, really, to be fair,” he said.

To some extent, Harding could claim to have proved his mettle already. On Saturday, at one point he lost the lead to Hatton, but he rallied with successive birdies on 12 and 13 to seize back the summit.

Hatton, meanwhile, began around then a run of four dropped shots in four holes - he double-bogeyed the par-3 15th - to sign for an ultimately disappointing 73. For his part, McIlroy mixed four birdies and a sublime eagle with three bogeys.

Even Westwood, one of the most experienced guys in the field and owner of 25 European Tour titles, came unstuck. Two off the lead playing the last, the Englishman carded what might well eventually be deemed a fatal triple-bogey.

Harding’s round, aside from the sole blemish on 8, was in comparison relatively uneventful.

“I'm quite happy,” he said. "I played quite solid. It was a difficult day, and some tough pins to get at. There were times when I didn't quite put the ball in play, and I couldn't really go anywhere near them. The one bogey made was from long range with the putter - a bit disappointing. Would have loved to have snuck one coming in, at 17 or 18, but I was happy with those.

“Look, at the end of the day, I've just got to go out and keep doing what I'm doing, and make a couple birdies and shoot 70, 69, something like that, and make them shoot 5- or 6-under par. And if they do, credit to them.”

McIlroy’s Saturday summation made Harding’s round sound all the more impressive.

“It was a bit of a battling day,” said the world No 8 following his 3-under 69. “I think everyone felt the same thing. It's tricky out there, a bit of breeze, firm greens, pins are tucked away. It's almost better off to have a 50-footer on the green than hit a good shot and then it run offs the green and you're chipping onto those firm greens.

“So there's a lot of tactics out there, and just sort of A to B and trying to put yourself in the right spots. Overall, I thought anything in the 60s today was a good score.”

Champion in 2009 – his first professional win – and 2015, McIlroy could become only the second player to capture the Classic three times. Ernie Els is the other.

“Yeah, I'm excited,” McIlroy said. “Had a really good chance in 2018 and let it slip through my fingers there when Li Haotong won. Good to give myself another opportunity.

“There's a great atmosphere out there today. Hopefully another great atmosphere tomorrow. I mean, I've played in a lot of final groups here, so it's nothing new to me at this point and I'm excited for it.

“It would be nice to get another win, especially here in Dubai. But it's obviously nice to get a win anywhere early in the season. I've just got to go out there tomorrow and try to play a good round of golf and hopefully it's good enough.”

Fleetwood makes up the final threesome having finished his second round with two birdies for a 69. Even if he described it as “frustrating for the most point”.

“You want to make the most of it when you play well, but just want all aspects of your game to fire at the right time, really,” Fleetwood said. “I feel absolutely fine. It's tough to stay patient sometimes when you're playing well and you don't make the most of it.

“Felt kind of proud of how I did that today. Felt like I stuck in. It would have been very easy to get overly frustrated and you give a couple more shots away. Happy with that.

“Looking on today, I'm so excited about playing tomorrow and getting the juices flowing on a Sunday and seeing how my game goes. I would love to be competing down that back stretch and who knows, might be my week, might not be, but excited where my game is heading.”

As for Sunday’s mindset, Fleetwood said: “Try my best. Stay on task, which is much more of a long-term project, I guess, trying to get my game back to where I want to be, and I've got a chance to do it under a bit more pressure rather than going out on Sunday - excited to see what the day brings."