'Mental day' - Connor Syme on making 11 birdies in best-of-day 63 in Abu Dhabi

The 30-year-old carded a best-of-the-day nine-under-par 63 - the effort contained 11 birdies and two bogeys - in the third round of the $9 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.

Having opened with rounds of 70 and 69 in the first of the DP World Tour’s two Play-Off events, Syme had started the day sitting 51st in the projected Race to Dubai Rankings after dropping four spots.

The top 50 on Sunday night will qualify for season-ending $10m DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next week and, having now climbed four spots in the opposite direction, Syme has given himself a bit of breathing space heading into the final round this week.

“Mental day,” declared the KLM Open champion. “I played 14 and was like ‘I made so many birdies today’. It was fun. I hit it so well. I hit it close to a lot of pins and I actually left a few out there, which sounds a bit daft.”

Six of Syme’s birdies came in the opening eight holes before dropping a shot at the ninth to be out in 31. He then added five birdies coming home but was frustrated with a bogey-6 at the 11th.

“That’s a really, really weird thing to say,” he admitted, having jumped into a tie for 12th on 14 under par. “But obviously delighted with the score. It gets me right back up the leaderboard.”

Last-day sweats for Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson

Aaron Rai, who started the week sitting 55th in the Race to Dubai Rankings, is on course to book his spot in the season finale in style after carding a 66 to lead on 20 under, one ahead of two-time winner Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Hojgaard.

Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy sits alongside Syme on 14 under, one ahead of Bob MacIntyre while Calum Hill is on 12 under.

MacIntyre had already secured his Dubai spot and it also looks as though it is job done for Hill, but Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson sit 46th and 48th respectively on the points list and can’t afford poor final rounds.