Matt Fitzpatrick was unable to take advantage of the par-five seventh, just carding a par after duffing a shot down the fairway.

The observant among you will see that Rory is now out on his own at the top of the leaderboard.

That's because Laurie Canter has had an ugly three-putt bogey from 20 feet on the eighth, missing a two-footer for par.

-16 McIlroy

-15 Rose, Canter, Fitzpatrick

-14 Aberg, Ayora

-13 MacIntyre, R Hojgaard

A word from Marco Penge on a week that promised much but was derailed by illness.

"It's been the year of my life, to have won three times and be in contention as much as I have, I feel proud," he said on Sky Sports.

"This week was disrupted and I didn't get off to the start I wanted on Thursday. But as soon as I got off the meds I was proud of how I fought back this week."

On moving to the PGA Tour next season, he added: "I'm looking forward to playing big events on that side of the pond.

"I'll miss the players and staff and tour in general but hopefully I'll be playing as much as I can on the DP World Tour as I can."

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen hollers "fore" almost as soon as the ball leaves the bat. The Dane is struggling a bit out there today and his tee shot on the seventh has gone way left. A thumbs up tells him the ball is in bounds.

He's in Li Haotong country though - and the Chinese carded a seven about an hour ago.

Big par-saver for Rory McIlroy on the par-three sixth. He was a little eager with his tee shot, his ball trundling off the back of the green but staying on a slope that could have drawn his ball into the water.

A 6/10 chip leaves him a six-footer for par. A first real tester of the day, but he calmly knocks it in. No damage done. And a huge birdie opportunity coming up.

Tyrrell Hatton is looking the picture of calm as he strolls across the seventh green to tap in from six inches for a second birdie of the day to balance his scorecard.

It's not the start he would have envisaged. He's just four back but relying on the wheels to fall off for Rory McIlroy.

There are also 10 PGA Tour card up for grabs for non-exempt players in the highest finishing positions of the Race to Dubai rankings.

Prior to the tournament, Marco Penge was well clear at the top, and pushing Rory McIlroy for the overall Race to Dubai title, but he started the week with a bit of illness.

The Englishman's just knocked in a birdie on the last to finish the tournament on nine under. Not what he would have wanted at the start of the week but he can still look back fondly on a season that has seen him win three times.

Overnight joint leader Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen was 13th in that list, external so just outside the mix for a card.

Over on the eighth and Justin Rose's birdie try from distance is fractionally off line.

But his playing partner Ludvig Aberg rolls in to give his round a lift. The Swede now just two off the lead on a ridiculously congested leaderboard.

Straight into the middle of the hole for Rory. Canter reeled in again.

And here comes Bob MacIntyre...

A third birdie of the day, on the 10th, has catapulted the Scot into contention. He's going to need a huge back nine to trouble those at the very top but he's now three back.

It feels like there's going to be a lot of tweaks, twists and turns at the top of the leaderboard.

Laurie Canter nips in front again, holing a tiddler for birdie on the long seventh.

Rory McIlroy is the next to take on the fifth flag. I know I said it was a friendly pin position - it is for the pros, for us mere amateurs, the right play would be to head for the middle of the green because the hole is cut just over a huge bunker and only a few paces onto the green.

But the pros are dialled in with their numbers and Rory pings his approach in close. Big birdie look coming up.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen also goes flag-hunting but his ball is perhaps 15 feet away, more than double the distance of his playing partner.

Matt Fitzpatrick is the latest to take advantage of the friendly pin position on the par-four fifth. The Englishman fires a wedge in to around five feet and he makes no mistake.

Three Englishmen and a Northern Irishman are now two clear of the field.

Justin Rose takes the briefest of looks at the line for his eagle putt. Three feet maximum. The Englishman is looking strong here.

A solid, if unspectacular, tee shot from Rory McIlroy on the par-three fourth but he's in the heart of the green. It's an outside chance of a birdie and he judges that to almost perfection.

But in the end, it's a an inch too strong on the power.

Are the wheels coming off for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen though? Another duffed chip leads to a second successive bogey.

Justin Rose is charging. A fairway wood in hand on the par-five seventh as he goes chasing the green.

He's a fraction right, perhaps intentional? His ball lands on a grassy knoll to the right of the hole, pin high, and takes a perfect sideways hop and rolls off the bank to almost kick-in range.

Looking like an eagle that will put him in a share of the lead.

You can see that England's Matt Fitzpatrick is bounding up the leaderboard.

He's just drained a 50-footer on the par-three fourth to move within one of the lead. The Sheffield United fan is a twice winner of this event, so knows his way round the Earth Course.

-15 McIlroy, Canter

-14 Fitzpatrick

-13 Rose, Aberg, Ayora, Neergaard-Petersen

Full leaderboard

Another dart fired at the flag by Rory McIlroy but he's left himself a testy downhill putt from around a dozen feet, which he barely breathes on. The line is good, the pace a fraction off as his ball takes a look at the front of the hole as it sidles by. Par.

It's a dropped shot for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen though - the Dane coming up short with a chip and unable to hole the par-saver from 15 feet.