DP World Tour Championship Diary: ‘Hats off to Matt Wallace whose back nine was something else,' says Meronk

I got back on track with today’s third round of 67, for a 54-hole total of six under par, 210, to be in tied 27th place. After any poor round, there is no room for feeling sorry for yourself – just get back out there.

For those not coming to the tournament, there is still water lying in the lower parts of the Earth course but the playing surfaces on the course are superb. The estate is much more undulating than most of the UAE golf courses – the television broadcast does not do justice to the undulating topography of Jumeirah Golf Estates.

It was the perfect day for scoring with soft fairways, holding greens with hardly a breath of air – it was dead calm. It was a lot warmer today with moisture in the ground and it took some adjusting from the previous two rounds.

I managed an eagle three on Hole seven to be out in 34.

Four birdies on the back nine with three in a row from the 12th tee was followed up with a bogey – birdie finish.

Just a ‘tip of the hat’ to Matt Wallace. The course was very gettable today but a 60, and a back nine of 27 with nine birdies is something else.

The next best score of the day was a 64 by Victor Perez, Jeff Winther and my fellow ‘Dubain’ Ewen Ferguson.

The Earth course is a big challenging course measuring over 7,700 on the scorecard and playing at least that length. But it is acknowledged that there were preferred lies in place, but this must be one of the rounds of the year or even the decade.

Well played Matt. One for us all to remember and also breaking so many DP World Tour records.

My thoughts now go immediately to Sunday and the final round of my season.

My tee time is at 9.40 am and I am playing with Finland’s Sami Valimaki, who has won twice on the DP World Tour including the 2020 Oman Open and the 2023 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, so he must like the Middle East air.

I just need to be patient and play my best on every shot and everything will take care of itself.

It is one 50 player field for so many reasons.

It is another big day for me tomorrow going for that Number One spot for my PGA Card but I must keep that in the back of my mind - ‘one shot at a time!’

I look forward to everyone’s support to help me get the best result I can.

ALSO READ

• The DP World Tour Championship Diary: ‘Far worse things in life than a bad day on the golf course,’ says Meronk

• This Week in Golf: Eyes of the world on Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship

• The DP World Tour Championship Diary: ‘I am nicely placed but us pros have been taught to never get ahead ourselves’ says Meronk

• The DP World Tour Championship Diary: I am hoping to make the most of my local knowledge of the Earth course

Just one personal observation – I am playing next week in Australia in the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship – with next year’s DP World Tour season starting on Thursday – but that is not on my radar just yet. In this job you do not get much of a break between seasons.

(The DP World Tour Championship can be watched in the Middle East on TV on Golf Life through evision.)

Adrian Meronk is 30 years old, a Dubai resident and managed by Dubai based The Spotlight Agency.

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