The defending champion damaged his lob wedge prior to his third round at Emirates GC, but was still able to fire a three-under-par score in Dubai

Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland have missed the cut and Rory McIlroy was forced to battle to make the weekend as the headline acts struggled at the Dubai Desert Classic.

Rory McIlroy may be seven shots back going into the final round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, but the defending champion believes he still has every chance of securing win No. 5 at the tournament