Rory McIlroy fancies his chances of ending 2024 on a high after taking a share of the lead at the DP World Tour Championship with one round remaining.
McIlroy shot a four-under 68 through his third round at Jumeirah Golf Estates to sit level with Antoine Rozner and Rasmus Hojgaard at 12-under for the week.
The Northern Irishman has endured a mixed year, memorably missing two close-range putts to miss out on his first major crown in a decade at June's US Open.
However, he could yet end it on a high as he is almost certain to claim the Race to Dubai title and is firmly in contention for a third triumph at the DP World Tour's season finale.
"As I said at the start of the week, my goal tomorrow is to be on that 18th green with two trophies instead of one," he told Sky Sports at the conclusion of his third round.
"I was with one of the Hojgaard brothers on the 18th last year and hopefully I'm not with the other one tomorrow!
"If I was to do it tomorrow, I'd walk away from this year with four worldwide wins, which is still pretty good.
"I'm excited about tomorrow. It's an opportunity to end the year on a really good note. I'm going to go out there and try to get it done."
Meanwhile, having carded six birdies in a seven-hole stretch to move into contention, Hojgaard is looking for more of the same on Sunday.
"I obviously hit it very close on the front nine, which was a massive confidence boost," the Dane told Sky Sports.
"I was just trying to ride the wave, see how many birdies I could make and then obviously it got a little bit more quiet on the back nine.
"I will approach tomorrow like I did today, try not to worry too much about what's ahead of me, try and play one hole at a time and get the best score possible."
McIlroy shares Dubai lead with Rozner, Hojgaard after three rounds
Rory McIlroy will take a share of the lead into the final round of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, as he took a major step towards a Dubai double on Saturday.
McIlroy is already on the verge of securing his sixth Race to Dubai crown to match Seve Ballesteros' record, only requiring a top-11 finish even if closest rival Thriston Lawrence was to win the final event on the 2024 calendar.
He ended Saturday's penultimate round eight shots clear of Lawrence and tied for the lead with Antoine Rozner and Rasmus Hojgaard, having carded a four-under 68.
The Northern Irishman scored six birdies and two bogeys in his third round, while Hojgaard made six birdies in a seven-hole stretch to ultimately make up two shots on McIlroy.
Rozner, meanwhile, surrendered the solo lead with a three-under 69, though a final-hole eagle ensured he will start Sunday's decisive final round among the frontrunners.
Things could have been even better for McIlroy had he not missed a birdie putt on the par-five 18th hole, which would have seen him enter Sunday a shot clear of the pack.
Nevertheless, he remains among the favourites to seal a third DP World Tour Championship crown, having previously won the event in 2012 and 2015.
Sweden's Jesper Svensson and Chile's Joaquin Niemann are two shots back of the leaders at 10-under for the tournament, with England's Tyrrell Hatton another shot back in sixth.
Rozner takes halfway lead in Dubai, McIlroy and Hatton chasing
Antoine Rozner has the halfway lead at the DP World Tour Championship, one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy, after an impressive second round.
The Frenchman took advantage of McIlroy's mid-round slip-up and carded a round-of-the-day 65 to hold a lead of nine under on Friday.
McIlroy had surged into what looked like a comfortable lead with four birdies in the first seven holes in Dubai but bogeyed two of the next three as the chasing pack caught up with him once more.
The Northern Irishman, who needs to place 11th or higher to secure the Race to Dubai title, sits joint-second with Tyrrell Hatton, who had also shared the lead after round one.
"I got off to a great start, four under through seven. I was feeling like I was in total control of what I was doing, and then I just started to miss a few fairways around the turn," McIlroy said.
"When you start missing fairways the way the course is set up this week, you're going to start to struggle.
"So I made two bogeys in the next three holes, I steadied the ship a little bit, but felt like I let a couple of chances slip by on 14 and 15, but played the last three holes well.
"It was nice to finish with a birdie and at least shoot something in the sixties."
Joaquin Niemann sits two strokes back in fourth, while Shane Lowry and Rasmus Hojgaard are in the group tied for sixth on six under.
Meanwhile, Thriston Lawrence, who is the only player capable of snatching the season-long title from McIlroy if he wins in Dubai, is nine adrift of the leader, and currently tied-34th after carding a second-round 71 thanks to a bogey on the final hole.
McIlroy: I'd pay for the privilege of playing in Ryder Cup
Rory McIlroy says he would pay to play in the Ryder Cup in response to reports that each member of Team USA will receive $400,000 for competing in next year's edition.
The 35-year-old was one of several European golfers who believe financial reward is unnecessary to play in the competition.
The news of a $4.8m purse split between Team USA comes after Patrick Cantlay refused to wear the team cap at last year's Ryder Cup in Rome, in an apparent protest about not being paid to represent his country.
"I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup," McIlroy told BBC Sport on Thursday.
"The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and it's partly because of that, the purity of no money being involved."
With record highs in prize money for professional golf now available in response to the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV tour, McIlroy does not think that the money is needed.
"I don't think any of the 24 players on either team needs that 400 grand," he said.
"Every two years, there are 104 weeks and 103 weeks you can play golf and get paid."
Cantlay was mocked for his decision not to wear his team's cap in Rome, with fans removing their headwear to mimic him.
While it led to McIlroy getting into a heated argument with Cantlay's caddie Joe LaCava at the time, he does see the other side of things.
"It was a discussion that was happening in Rome. I can see the other side of the argument because the Ryder Cup does create a lot of revenue," he added.
"It is one of the probably top five biggest sporting events in the world. So I get the argument that the talent should be or could be getting paid.
"But the Ryder Cup is so much more than that, especially to the Europeans and to this tour."
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