Dream Saturday looms for Scots duo in Abu Dhabi

It’s been quite a week for Robert MacIntyre and Grant Forrest – and it’s shaping up to get a whole lot better.

The duo, two of the four Scots to have earned European Tour cards for this season off the 2018 Challenge Tour rankings, not only got into the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship; they also made the cut to set up a potentially lucrative weekend that could go a long way to helping them retain their playing privileges.

With one round of the tournament to go – it started a day early to accommodate the Asian Cup – Forrest is sitting in a tie for 12th, nine shots adrift of leader Shane Lowry, with MacIntyre amongst eight players sharing 50th place. 

• Phil Mickelson makes PGA Tour history in Desert Classic

• Padraig Harrington hints at reducing captains picks

A low score in Saturday’s final round could help the duo bank some serious cash – and they’ll have some high-profile company for the walk.

• Matt Kuchar ‘accuser’ makes new caddie claim

MacIntyre goes off alongside Ryder Cup hero and back-to-back Abu Dhabi champion Tommy Fleetwood at 8.50am local time, with Forrest teeing off alongside former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen at 11.33am.

Their fellow Scot Scott Jamieson plays alongside Soren Kjeldsen in the fourth-to-last group, with Richie Ramsay – the only other Scotsman to make the cut – paired with Sam Horsfield at 8am.