Overnight Leaders Trail Lee

Rory McIlroy managed only a level par 72 on Saturday and co leader, Thomas Bjorn suffered greater woes when he went in the water on the last. - and with three bogeys in his last four holes - he signed for a 73.

It leaves Lee Westwood with a one-shot lead going into the final 18 holes of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic after carding a five-under-par 67 in the third round at Emirates Golf Club.

The 38-year-old Englishman sits on 15-under-par at the head of a packed leaderboard in the Middle East, where 11 players are separated by just three shots.

The world number three, who teed off in a tie for seventh, made three birdies in his opening four holes as he swept into top spot.

Westwood, who is yet to drop a shot on the back nine all week, drained three birdies in four holes after the turn and finished off with five straight pars to secure a narrow advantage.

He is seeking a third title in his last six starts, having left fields for dead in South Africa and Thailand at the end of last year.

"It's not like I've forgotten how to win," Westwood told Sky Sports. "I've won 30-odd times, so I'm used to knowing what to do when I'm leading.

"I played nicely again. I got off to a good start with three birdies in the first four, hit a lot of quality iron shots and rolled the ball well on the green."

McIlroy, Bjorn falter

His nearest challengers are Rafael Cabrera-Bello (70), Stephen Gallacher (68) and Marcel Siem (68) on 14 under, but it was a difficult day for world number two Rory McIlory - the joint overnight leader - who struggled to a level-par 72.

The 22-year-old Northern Irishman is still only two shots behind Westwood after carding three bogeys on the back nine to slip into a tie for fourth.

"It was pretty ragged to say the least," said McIlroy. "Conditions were a little tougher - the wind was up and that put me off a little bit.

"The greens got firmer and the pin positions were a little tougher. I'll go to the range and try to iron it out.

"I just had to try to hang in there and stay as close to the lead as I could. To be only two back is a bonus - I feel it could have been worse.

"Two shots over 18 holes is nothing. I still feel in a pretty positive frame of mind and the windier it is tomorrow the better. It will make it a tough battle."

McIlroy's co-leader through 36 holes, Thomas Bjorn, also had a disappointing day at the office, posting a 73 that included three bogeys in the final four holes.

However, McIlroy and Bjorn remain in contention as does world number four Martin Kaymer, who fired a tidy 70 that featured 14 pars.

Padraig Battles Beach Weather

Padraig Harrington moved into a share of third place at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California, as Charlie Wi opened up a three-shot lead at the top of the leaderboard.

Avoiding the worst of the afternoon weather at Pebble Beach, South Korean Wi holed a wedge for eagle on the 13th en route to a 69 that lifted him to 12 under.

Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner of this event, went round Spyglass Hill in 72 to lie second, while Harrington recorded five birdies in his first seven holes before eventually signing for a 66 at Pebble.

He was one of five players on eight under, along with New Zealander Danny Lee, who followed his opening 63 with a one over 73 at Spyglass.

Former World Number One Tiger Woods was a further two shots back, having managed just a 68 at Monterey Peninsula, the easiest of the three courses.

Woods told the PGA Tour website: “Drove it good again today, unfortunately just didn’t make enough birdies.”

Lying in a tie for 16th, Woods added about the deteriorating weather: “The golf course got a little interesting coming in.

“I was hitting the ball in the wrong spots. And the greens started to get a little bumpy with the softer conditions.”

Commmenting on his round at Pebble, Wi added: “The greens were very firm, and the guys that shot eight or nine under out there, I was very surprised how well they played. Some of the pins were really tricky.

“I said, `Gosh, how did they shoot nine under out there?' And for me to shoot three under today, I was very pleased.”

England’s Greg Owen added a 67 to his opening 68 to sit in a nine-way tie for eighth at seven under.

Rory's Got Bjorn Company

Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn share the halfway lead at the Dubai Desert Classic after an action-packed second round.

World number two McIlroy added a sublime 65 to his opening 66 to post 13-under in the morning session and, later in the day, Bjorn birdied the 18th to card a seven-under round of his own to join the US Open champion at the top.

The two former winners (McIlroy 2009) and Bjorn (2001) are one in front of first round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello and two clear of a three-man group which features world number four Martin Kaymer, who produced the highlight of the day by making a hole-in-one at the 186-yard seventh.

That helped him to a 67 and a share of fourth place with Scotland's Scott Jamieson and Frenchman Gregory Bourdy.

World number three Lee Westwood is also right in the hunt after a hat-trick of closing birdies gave him a 65 and a share of seventh place on 10-under alongside Germany's Marcel Siem and Scotland's Stephen Gallacher.

McIlroy landed his first professional title on the Emirates Course in 2009 and also led the tournament for the first three rounds last year.

Great position

After his 65, he told Sky Sports: "I just kept picking up birdies along the way and it puts me in a great position.

"I feel a lot more confident than I did in Abu Dhabi."

Despite battling his swing, he lost by just one to Robert Rock there two weeks ago and that after incurring a two-shot penalty for brushing sand away from his line off the green.

For Kaymer it was a first-ever hole-in-one, but the prize of a watch will go to his physio after a bet they have every week.

"It will be a good celebration tonight," he said.

Bjorn and Westwood both said that patience had been a key factor in their 65s.

"There's a tricky spell on this golf course, six through nine, and that can really come up and bite you," said Bjorn, "so you've got to keep your patience because the back nine offers a lot of opportunities."

Despite McIlroy, Kaymer and Westwood presenting daunting opposition, Bjorn knows he can beat them.

"The good thing for me is I won in Switzerland (September's Omega European Masters) with those three on the leaderboard as well and that's not too long ago," said the Dane, who racked up three victories on the European Tour in 2011.

Westwood said his "perseverance" pleased him most.

"I gave myself a lot of chances out there and kept burning the hole and left a few hanging on the edges," said the Englishman. "I just had to be really patient."

Second round leaderboard

-13 R McIlroy

-13 T Bjorn (Den)

-12 R Cabrera-Bello (Spa)

-11 M Kaymer (Ger)

-11 G Bourdy (Fra)

-11 S Jamieson

-10 S Gallacher

-10 M Siem (Ger)

-10 L Westwood

Pebble Time for Harrington

Tiger Woods has dominated the build-up to the AT&T National Pro-am at Pebble Beach this week. Not surprising given the momentum he has created in his last four tournaments.

For Irish eyes though it is the appearance of Pádraig Harrington’s in the United States that is of the most interest, having not played on the other side of the Atlantic since September.

Ireland’s three-time major winner almost certainly has to win on Sunday to book himself a place in the first world championship of the season. Any failure to do that will damage his hopes of retaining his Ryder Cup spot later this year at Medinah

Harrington has played every Accenture Matchplay apart from the inaugural one in 1999, but he stands 93rd in the world and has to climb back into the top 65 to make the trip to Tucson later this month.

The Dubliner has turned to Dave Alred – the man who has linked up with world number one Luke Donald and rugby star Jonny Wilkinson – to help him this season They worked together for the first time in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago.

Harrington came only 35th and wrote afterwards about Alred  “I am very excited about working with him and I can’t wait to get to see him again. I was asked about what he does. The best way I could explain it was that he doesn’t have new answers or questions, he merely asks the same questions but in a different way.

“He observed what I do and then gave his thoughts on how I could do it better. He has totally changed the way I will practice by giving it more meaning. The changes will have a huge effect for the rest of the year.”

Harrington plays in Pebble Beach with racehorse owner JP McManus and start on the Monterey Peninsular course on Thursday.

Woods will tee off at Spyglass Hill.

Rory Looking for Early Win

Rory McIlroy admits he is looking to get an early win under his belt this season as he prepares for the familiar challenge of the Dubai Desert Classic this week.

The US Open champion almost got his year off to the perfect start in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, but eventually finished runner-up to Robert Rock in his first competitive outing of 2012.

A two-shot penalty in the second round ultimately proved costly for the Ulsterman, but he is hoping to put that frustration of that near miss behind him in the closing leg of the European Tour's Desert Swing.

Despite still being just 22 years of age, McIlroy will be making his seventh appearance at the event in Dubai this week and will be looking for another big performance having followed his maiden Tour victory there in 2009 with top-10 finishes the past two seasons.

"I've spent a good bit of time here in the past and, after playing in Abu Dhabi, spent the week here practicing, working on my game and I'm looking forward to this week," he told reporters.

"This is my seventh Dubai Desert Classic, I've played every year since '06 and I obviously got good memories of here from winning in '09 and being in contention the last couple of years.

"I feel like it's a golf course that I play well on and hopefully I can play well on it again.

"In Abu Dhabi I scored very well and was able to get myself in contention which was great.

"But I felt like I needed to work on a couple of things last week, which I did, and it feels like they're getting better.

"It's always nice to start off the season like that, I feel like I had a great chance to win and didn't quite do it, but it would be great to get a win under my belt pretty early this season and try and win here a place that I've won at before and a course I really enjoy to play."