The Peter Cowen Diary: 'There's still everything to play for after strange ‘Moving Day’ at Yas Links

Well, that was a strange ‘Moving Day’ at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links where no one really moved.

Dubai’s Paul Waring is still on top of the leaderboard but he is a lucky boy in my opinion. He admitted he did not play well with his round three 73, but none of the star players on the field made any move.

That was my surprise today!

Rory McIlroy shot a 69, Fleetwood a 71 and MacIntyre a 69. Shane Lowry excelled with a 66.

I was pleased with my three students – a decent day’s work for me and my players: Joaquin Niemann 66 to be 12 under, Guido Migliozzi 69 to be eight under and Grant Forrest 65 to be five under. I am a proud coach with my guys in round three, they seem to be listening to me, as usual!

There's still everything to play for, with several players in the mix who haven't been in this position before in their short careers.

There are some life-changing opportunities for quite a few players tomorrow: winning a Rolex Series event is huge for so many, with the money, the OWGR points, the Race to Dubai points, the Ryder Cup points and so much more.

Included in the mini-competitions is getting into the top 50 of the Race to Dubai at the end of the week to play in next week’s DP World Tour Championship over the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates as well as the potential to get your full PGA Tour playing privileges for the 2025 season for the top 10 players who have not already got their PGA Tour cards.

It will be an intriguing final round, definitely worth attending if you are lucky to have a ‘sold out’ ticket or on TV. That pressure factor will certainly come into play.

Will it be a new boy who rises to the challenge or an old hand showing the youngsters how it should be done? I will drive down to Dubai and Emirates Golf Club tomorrow (Sunday) morning to see my Peter Cowen Academy coaches and my Academy at EGC on the range – decisions to be made, when will we do a soft opening and a more formal opening?

I will also connect with my players tomorrow and get ready for another big week at Jumeirah Golf Estates, where the season-ending $10 million DP World Tour Championship will be held.

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