Shane Lowry moves into top-three after impressive third round at Abu Dhabi Championship

Shane Lowry has jumped into the top-three at the Abu Dhabi Championship after a third-round 66 left him just three strokes off the lead heading into the final round.

Lowry, who won the event in 2019 six months before his Open Championship triumph, began the day 10 shots adrift of the leader, England's Paul Waring, but propelled himself into a contention after a blistering front nine which contained an eagle and four birdies.

His run was kick-started after draining a 36ft eagle putt on the par-5 second hole and he followed with birdies at the fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth holes, amid a display of sumptuous iron play and superb putting.

Lowry's momentum stalled on the back nine as he failed to convert birdie chances at 12, 14 and 16, before dropping his first stroke after missing the green left at the par-3 17th. However, his round would finish on a high with a 24ft birdie putt on the 18th to land on -15.

That leaves him in a four-way tie for third place alongside Tommy Fleetwood, Sebastian Soderberg and Thorbjoern Olesen.

Fleetwood, like Lowry, is a past champion, having won back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, albeit at the old venue of Abu Dhabi GC, before the tournament moved to Yas Links in 2022.

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It was a considerably less satisfying finish for Rory McIlroy, who double-bogeyed the final hole after pulling his drive into the water to drop back to 13-under par after Round 3.

McIlroy's third round was bookended by dropped strokes, having bogeyed the opening hole. Otherwise, the four-time major winner played well, with six birdies, half of them coming on par-5s. His eventual score of 69 leaves him five off the lead but with an outside chance heading into the final round.

A first or second place finish will see