Shiv Kapur Lies 8th at Abu Dhabi Golf

Indian golfer Shiv Kapur staged a superb comeback in the third round, as he completed the penultimate round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships with a sizzling seven-under 65 despite a last hole bogey.

At eight-under 208, Kapur is now tied-eighth and four shots of the lead though some players had yet to finish their third round.

Kapur, who got into the field with an invitation after losing his card in 2015, started the week with a round of two-over 74, then added three-under 69 on second day to make the cut at one-under.

At the end of Saturday, when he still had five holes to play, Kapur was six-under through 13 holes and he came back on Sunday morning with birdies on seventh and eight but closed the round with a bogey on.

Earlier he began the third round with four straight birdies before bogeying 14th and then birdied the 18th, first and third when fading light stopped play.

Meanwhile late on Saturday, Rory McIlroy was part of a five-way share of the lead in the delayed third round.

The four-time Major Champion finished off his second round in stunning fashion on Saturday morning by following a birdie on the 17th hole with a tap in eagle on the 18th for a two under par 70.

Fog had delayed the start of play by nearly three hours for a second consecutive day, but the Northern Irishman did not let the interruptions affect him, as he also made a strong start to his third round at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

After the re-start, McIlroy picked up shots on the second and fourth holes, before his only bogey of the day on the fifth, but he then added another birdie on the eighth to move to ten under par for the tournament. McIlroy, a four-time runner up in Abu Dhabi, was two shots off the pace set by playing partner Andy Sullivan when their group stood on the ninth tee, but Sullivan lost his ball off the tee and went on to card a triple bogey seven, just as fading light halted play for the day.

That meant McIlroy, who safely made par, will resume play on Sunday morning at the top of the leaderboard alongside American Rickie Fowler, who was four under through 11; South African Branden Grace, who was six under par after 16 holes; Dutchman Joost Luiten, who was three under after birdieing his tenth and final hole of the day; and Englishman Ian Poulter, who surged to the summit after making five birdies and no bogeys in the 13 holes he completed.

Sullivan also remains in contention, one shot back on nine under par, alongside Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Thomas Pieters, Henrik Stenson and Robert Rock. Meanwhile, World Number One Jordan Spieth, who is making his debut in the event, was one of only 13 players to complete their third rounds. The American posted a four under par round of 68 to move to seven under, just three shots off the pace.