But after starting his back nine with another birdie on the 10th, a horror run of three bogeys in three holes on the 13th, 14th and 15th threatened to derail Hillier’s round.
However, Hillier regained composure to conclude his third day and made back-to-back birdies once more to finish, getting two shots back on the 17th and 18th, a day after concluding his second day with an eagle.
The Porirua native holds a single shot lead over England’s Tyrrell Hatton, who sits at 12-under after he came away with a four-under third round.
“It was a grind,” said Hillier. “I figured it was going to be that at the start of the day with all that wind. It was tough, but I enjoyed it out there.
“I’ll have a crack at it tomorrow. It would be life-changing [to win].
“Last year was pretty tough. It was a bit of a grind. I was getting pretty frustrated with myself towards the end of the year.
“I gave myself a little bit of a break and time to reset, and I’m feeling refreshed. I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Should Hillier get over the line, it would be his second victory on the DP World Tour, and first since 2023, when he lifted the British Masters crown. However, he did not secure a single top-10 finish in 2024.
Elsewhere, compatriot Ryan Fox is also finely poised for his own shot at the Dubai Desert Classic title after his three-under third round took his score to nine-under, four shots off the pace.
Fox, 37, made six birdies and three bogeys of his own, and is level with England’s Laurie Canter at nine-under heading into the final round.
So far, Fox has four European Tour wins, with his most recent being the BMW PGA Championship in September 2023.
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
