Surrey, England – Luke Donald posted a three-under 69 on Saturday to not only move atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the BMW PGA Championship, but one day closer to the No. 1 world ranking.
It was here one year ago when Donald beat Lee Westwood in a playoff to become the No. 1 player for the first time. If things hold up on Sunday, Donald will reclaim the top status after trading it with Rory McIlroy most of this year.
Once McIlroy missed the cut on Friday at Wentworth Club, the home of the European Tour offices and this, its flagship event, Donald needed only a top- eight finish to get back to No. 1.
After his play in windy, demanding conditions on Saturday, that seems like a certainty.
"I was in a similar situation last year," Donald said in his televised interview. "It's going to be tricky. It's going to be tough. I'm just going to have to keep my head down and persevere, like I did last year.
"Hopefully, that's good enough."
Donald finished with a 20-foot birdie on the 18th to get in at 11-under 205. He is two strokes clear of Justin Rose, who also shot a 69 on Saturday, and four in front of Peter Lawrie, who struggled a bit down the stretch en route to a 72.
Donald wasn't the only story on Saturday. The course conditions were also an issue, and one of golf's nicest men apparently had enough.
Ernie Els, who re-designed Wentworth a few years ago, shot a two-under 70 on Saturday, but, according to reports, let loose with a profanity-laced tirade about the state of the course.
"It's such a pity. You put so much work and effort into it," Els said after his round and his criticism of the course. "Why are the greens getting out of control? I wish the tour and greenstaff would put more moisture in them.
"It's a never-ending story around here."
Els is tied for fourth with three-time winner this year Branden Grace (73), 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie (71) and Richard Sterne (72). The group finished at five-under 211.
Second-round leader James Morrison had a horrible third round. He shot a nine- over 81 and fell into a tie for 11th at three-under par.
After Morrison fell apart and his playing partner David Drysdale also collapsed a bit, the top of the leaderboard featured Donald and Peter Lawrie.
Donald tied Lawrie for first with a two-putt birdie at the par-five 12th. The 13th became a swing hole when Donald rolled in a four-footer for birdie and Lawrie couldn't recover from a poor tee shot left in the trees. Lawrie made bogey and Donald's lead was two.
Donald got erratic with the driver and he paid for it on the 15th. After a penalty drive thanks to a pushed tee ball, Donald made bogey, but so too did Lawrie.
Rose, who won this year's WGC-Cadillac Championship, was two-under on his round and two-putted the par-five 17th for a birdie to close Donald's margin to a stroke. Rose had a decent look at birdie from eight feet on the par-five finishing hole, but missed right.
Donald hit another poor drive right at 17, hit an on-course reporter with his second, but thanks to a magnificent fourth shot to four feet, he was able to save par.
At the closing hole, Donald laid up short of the water with his second. He knocked his third to 18 feet and poured in the birdie putt to take a two-shot lead into Sunday's final round.
"It was very difficult," Donald said on TV. "I'll certainly sleep well tonight. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, it's going to be a tough day against Justin and a few of the other guys chasing. Justin is playing nicely and it'll be a good head-to-head battle."
Rose is now in position for his first win in Europe since 2007.
"I didn't really realize how good a round it was until I'd finished," said Rose. "I managed to keep my mind away from what everyone else was doing and just focus on what I had to do."
Peter Hedblom, Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Francesco Molinari each shot two-over 74s on Saturday and are tied for eighth at minus-four.
NOTES: Donald will be looking for his seventh European Tour title on Sunday...He can join Sir Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie as the only players to successfully defend this title in tournament history...Ian Poulter shot a three-under 69 early Saturday, then watched as his name moved up the leaderboard into a tie for 11th with Morrison at three-under...Drysdale finished with a six-over 78 and is tied for 13th at minus-two.
