• Dubai Desert Classic, Round Three

Westwood confident of finishing job after hitting front

Lee Westwood will take a lead into the final round © Getty Images

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Lee Westwood will take a slender one-shot lead into the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic after an impressive round of 67 on Saturday.

Westwood started the day slightly adrift of the leaders but quickly moved out in front after three birdies in his opening four holes, before two bogeys just before the turn threatened to halt his progress.

But the Englishman started the back nine just as he had done on the front, and those three birdies proved enough for him to take the third round lead at 15-under as he concluded his day with five straight pars.

"I played nicely again. Very solid," Westwood said afterwards. "I got off to a very good start, three-under after four, rolled the ball well on the greens and hit a lot of good quality iron shots.

"I've won 30-odd times in my career, so I'm used to knowing what to do when I'm leading a tournament.

"I'm hitting the ball well. Whatever happens with the weather happens and you just have to contend with it. Whoever plays best will win."

Three players are hot on Westwood's heels at 14-under - Stephen Gallacher, Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Marcel Siem. Gallacher and Siem both enjoyed rounds of 68 to remain at the business end of proceedings come the weekend, while Cabrera-Bello came home in 34 to salvage a round of 70 that prevented Westwood from getting out of his reach.

However, Westwood may be expecting his biggest challenge to come from two players a shot further back - as both former champion Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer look poised for a Sunday charge.

McIlroy started the day with the lead but never really managed to get anything going, with a one-over par back nine that included three birdies and three bogeys symptomatic of an inconsistent display from tee to green. The Northern Irishman nevertheless managed to card a level-par round of 72, with Kaymer going two better as he also finished the day 13-under.

They are joined at the score by Joel Sjoholm and Scott Jamieson, after they had rounds of 66 and 70 respectively.

With the top 14 on the leaderboard separated by just five shots, a number of other players will fancy their chances of a lucrative victory on Sunday. Thomas Bjorn remains 12-under despite a difficult round of 73, level with former Open champion Ben Curtis (67) and South African George Coetzee (69).

Nicolas Colsaerts is on his own at 11-under, narrowly ahead of Gregory Bourdy and Henrik Stenson.

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