| -10 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -9 R McIlroy (NI), A Rai (Eng); -8 K Kitayama (US), L Herbert (Aus), V Perez (Fra); -7 R MacIntyre (Sco), O Bekker (SA) |
| Selected others: -6 T Hatton (Eng); -5 J Smith (Eng), T Lewis (Eng); -4 F Molinari (Ita) |
| Full leaderboard |
Matt Fitzpatrick will take a one-shot lead over Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and fellow Englishman Aaron Rai into the final round of the Italian Open.
US Open champion Fitzpatrick’s two-under-par 69 left him on 10 under.
McIlroy shot an up-and-down 71 that included a birdie at the last, which ensured the world number two will be in Sunday’s final group with Fitzpatrick.
Rai fired a bogey-free 65 to climb 18 places on the leaderboard.
While Fitzpatrick failed to card a birdie on his front nine, he picked up shots on the 10th and 12th before a four on the par-five 18th gave him sole possession of the 54-hole lead.
McIlroy started with five straight pars and, while he birdied the sixth, the four-time major winner immediately dropped a shot at the next.
A three-putt on the par-five 12th cost the 33-year-old another stroke, but he carded birdies on the 16th and 18th – either side of a dropped shot on the 17th – to stay firmly in the hunt.
McIlroy, who clinched a third PGA Tour FedEx Cup title last month, leads the DP World Tour’s rankings – and victory this week would increase his advantage at the top of the standings.
Two-time DP World Tour winner Rai was the only player to complete his round without a bogey in blustery conditions at Rome’s Marco Simone Club, which will stage next year’s Ryder Cup.
Frenchman Victor Perez twice reached 10 under during a rollercoaster round of 69, however, a double bogey six on the 14th moved him back to eight under. While he holed a superb 76ft eagle putt to return to that mark, a bogey-bogey finish left the 30-year-old two shots back.
American Kurt Kitayama (67) and Australia’s Lucas Herbert (68) are alongside Perez on eight under with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (67) a shot further back.
