The Dubai-domiciled Spaniard sits at -14, after a brace of 69s were backed up by a superb bogey-free 64 in the third round, leaving him six adrift of Chinese wunderkind Haotong Li.

The 2012 Desert Classic champion may have shot the lights out on moving day but acknowledges there is still plenty to do to catch the front-runners.

“Eight under today was very good, and I missed a few close chances so I want to make them count,” said Cabrera Bello. “I need to go low tomorrow, do the same again to have a chance of lifting the trophy again.”

The three-time European tour winner has an affinity with the Majlis. He is eighth in the scoring average at the Desert Classic since 2007 with an impressive average score of 69.8 for 28 loops of the Middle East’s top-rated track.

“I love this tournament and the Majlis course, always play well here, lots of friends here in Dubai following me which is very nice.”

The reigning Scottish Open champion has already notched up a second place finish this season at the Hong Kong Open to follow up his six top-10s last season. But with the likes of France’s Alexander Levy, South Africa’s Haydn Porteous, and returning juggernaut Rory McIlroy currently between him and leader Li, Cabrera Bello has his work cut out.

One thing that should reassure the 33-year-old is his ability to finish a round. The final hole at The Majlis has been at his mercy this week, and if it should come down to finishing strong to seal a second Dallah, the evidence thus far presented only works in his favour.

“Played great today and eagled 18 again today – so played 18 this week eagle, birdie, eagle. It’s going to be an exciting final day tomorrow.”

The post Rafa’s late late show appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Bjorn will tee it up at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club on Jan. 29 alongside Dubai-based Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick (both members of the beaten 2016 team at Hazeltine) and reigning British Masters champion Paul Dunne (Ireland). Cabera Bello, Fitzpatrick and Dunne helped Bjorn’s Europeans rally to a 14-10 win over Asia in the EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur earlier today in a positive precursor to the Ryder Cup.

Also confirmed for the 18-hole Gary Player Invitational are the Black Knight himself, D+D Real Czech Masters champion Haydn Porteous, Made in Denmark winner Julian Suri, 2016 South African Open winner Brandon Stone, Portugal Masters champion Lucas Bjerregaard and Jordan Smith, winner of the Porsche European Open.

Cabrera Bello’s sister Emma will also play alongside fellow Ladies European Tour players Olivia Cowan, Carly Booth and Henni Goya. Joining the pros will also be the UAE’s top amateur, Rayhan Thomas, and entertainers Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy (pictured above).

The Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs as the charity set to benefit from the day of “#golfandgiving”

“We are thrilled to be coming back to Abu Dhabi and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club to kick off 2018 with what will be a field of some of the super new golfing talent in the world,” said Player.

“As illustrated by our field of champions, including the UAE’s very own Rayhan Thomas, the game continues to evolve and strengthen in the UAE which is truly fantastic to see. This, combined with raising money for those in need will make for a fantastic event for all.”

Held in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, under the Patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the 2018 Gary Player Invitational at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is the only Middle Eastern stop in the global series. The series has helped The Player Foundation raise more than $64 million for charities worldwide and plays a key role in helping the foundation work towards its goal of raising $100 million by 2025.

“While the event itself is both engaging and entertaining, it is made all the more worthwhile knowing that funds raised will stay in Abu Dhabi and support the Zayed Higher Organization in all the great work that they do for the community,” said Player.

Supporters include Etihad Airways, TDIC, the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi (host of the post tournament gala dinner), SAP and Rolex. New sponsors confirmed for 2018 include Abu Dhabi Ports and Al Masaood Automobiles.

 Visit garyplayerinvitational.com and follow @GPInvitational on Twitter and Instagram  – #GOLFandGIVING.

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By John Huggan
Haydn Porteous missed the halfway cut in the 2016 D+D REAL Czech Masters, the start of a 16-tournament run on the European Tour in which the 23-year-old South African played on the weekend only twice. It was a startling sequence of bad form from a man who had won the Johannesburg Open just a few months earlier.

Now fast forward 12 months. In a season during which he has recorded only one top-10 finish—a T-6 at the Made in Denmark one week earlier—Porteous is now a two-time European Tour champion. With a final-round 69, Porteous reached 13 under par at the Albatross Golf Resort outside Prague to win the 2017 edition of the Czech Masters by two strokes over England’s Lee Slattery. Another Englishman, Tom Lewis, tied for third with Pontus Widegren of Sweden at 10 under.

“It’s been a really torrid time through the last eight, nine months, and I’ve really started doing the right things. And slowly but surely the golf has got a little bit better,” said Porteous, who won €166,660. “To get my second European Tour win under the belt just feels amazing. When you start playing on the European Tour, you start to lose yourself, you lose how you got out here in the first place, and to then find yourself again and do the things you do to normally get on the tour is key. It’s just one tournament at a time, one shot at a time and just make sure I do the right things and be professional in the way I do everything. I’m sure this evening’s probably not going to be the most professional moment of my life, but there’s nothing wrong with having a bit of celebration.”

Consolation for Slattery, albeit a slight one, comes from the fact that the former Russian Open champion moved to the top of the newly-minted European Ryder Cup qualifying table. Which may not mean much with 11 months to go before the last counting event, but it represented a considerably better performance than those turned in by some of the players likely to feature in captain Thomas Bjorn’s thinking over the next year or so.

Two years after claiming the Czech Masters title, Thomas Pieters, the Old World star of the last Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, finished 66th after a closing 83 that included nine dropped shots and quadruple bogey. Another member of the 2016 side, Matt Fitzpatrick, wasn’t much better on T-54. And the rising star of English golf, Jordan Smith, recently T-9 at the PGA Championship, pulled up T-60.

The post South African overcomes a year full of struggles to claim Czech Masters title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.