A Desert Classic

The Dubai Desert Classic is set for a grandstand finish after a fascinating third round in which the lead constantly changed hands before a plethora of players ended the day in strong contention. But, when all said and done, the betting favourites remain Rory McIlroy at a best price of 3/1 with StanJames and Tiger Woods at 4/1 with totesport.

The Irishman may still be favourite but after a three over par round of 75 this says more about the entire leading pack struggling to score well on Saturday. McIlroy closed on -8 to share the lead with Anders Hanson (9/1 with Boylesports ) and Thomas Aiken (8/1 with PaddyPower).

That Woods finished at -7, along with six other contenders, was testimony to his street fighting qualities as he fought back superbly after a horror start that even saw him drift off the leaderboard at one stage. His final score of 72 ultimately saw him close the gap on the likes of McIlroy, Aiken and Garcia. He wakes up on Sunday three shots closer to the lead than this morning but the difference is that 20 players are suddenly within three.

The whole picture would have looked very different had Sergio Garcia maintained his grip on proceedings than made him the new favourite in mid-round. At one point the Spaniard was cruising along at -11 with Woods just one of the big names left in his dust. But Garcia stumbled down the stretch and with his recent struggles for form SkyBet have cast him back out to 11/1.

World number one Lee Westwood continues to hang in there and at -5 he unexpectedly finds himself just three shots off the pace and 20/1 with bet365. Journeyman Alvaro Velasco is 50/1 with SkyBet despite starting the final round one shot off the lead.