Eugenio Chacarra is "ready" to go head to head with Rory McIlroy for top spot in the 2026 Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World on Sunday.
McIlroy is bidding to win the Harry Vardon Trophy for a record-equalling eighth time and boosted his hopes when he ended a testing third round with a birdie at the 18th at the DP World Tour Championship.
That left him alongside Chacarra, the pre-tournament leader in the rankings, going into the final day of the season and while they will not play in the same group - and are both four shots off the lead held by McIlroy's Saturday playing partner Tyrrell Hatton - there could be a match play feel to their rounds.
Chacarra said after his 68 on Friday: “I'm ready. I love the game of golf, I worked so hard for these moments and I’m going to go out there and enjoy it.
“I think all my goals have been done this season so I'm just playing free. This is an extra bonus to have a chance to win it, not a lot of people can enjoy this moment and have a chance to win the Race to Dubai, so I'm going to have a chance tomorrow and I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
Chacarra began his third round with two birdies in the first three holes, only to bogey the fourth before a shock double-bogey at the fifth.
He birdied the seventh and eighth and bogeyed the ninth, with his level-par score for the front nine not even beginning to tell the story, and his topsy-turvy round continued with a birdie-bogey-birdie run from the 11th.
McIlroy, playing five groups later than the Spaniard, seemed to have struck a blow with an eagle at the seventh but he bogeyed the next three to reopen the door and, with both players keenly watching the on-course leaderboards, it gave Chacarra the encouragement he needed.
His emphatic fist-pump after birdieing the 15th told the story and he picked up further shots at the 16th and 18th as he and McIlroy both ended the day among four players tied for fourth in Dubai.
"A lot of good and a lot of bad," said Chacarra as he summed up his round.
“Made a three-putt on four after a good shot, and then made a double with a wedge from the middle of fairway on five. So yeah, it's been a grind.
“I've been fighting all year and I really want to win that ranking, I want to show the world I'm capable to play under pressure and I think so far I've been doing that.
“I just want to win the tournament. I'm not far away, hopefully they don't make a lot of birdies coming in and I’ve got a shot tomorrow.
“I know if I win the tournament, I win the ranking, that's what I wanted to do in Abu Dhabi and I didn't make it, and I wanted to do it here.
“That's what we prepare for and I'm going to have a chance on Sunday. That's what we dream of since I was little, to win big events on Sunday, and I'm going to have a chance.”
