Woods was wayward with his driver at times on Saturday

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
(GB & Ire unless stated):
-11 E Els (SA)
-10 H Stenson (Swe)
-8 G McDowell, L Westwood
Selected others:
-7 T Woods (US), S Garcia (Sp)
-5 I Poulter
-2 M-A Jimenez (Sp)
+1 C Montgomerie

World number five Ernie Els hit a spectacular 65 in the third round to shoot up to the top of the leaderboard in the Dubai Desert Classic.

South Africa Els began the day four shots behind the lead of Tiger Woods but went to 11-under to lead Sweden's Henrik Stenson (68) by a shot.

Overnight leader Tiger Woods had a dreadful round, plunging into water at the last, and going round in 73.

Woods found himself four shots off the pace after finishing with a bogey six.

Els needed a low round to force himself into contention and he got exactly that, with two birdies on the front nine, and an explosive start coming home with eagle, birdie, par, birdie.

One more birdie at 17 in a bogey-free card made him the clubhouse leader and nobody else could reach him, not even defending champion Stenson.

The Swede birdied the 17th, a short par four, and needed a birdie four down the last to join Els.

But a misdirected second shot, followed by a recovery chip and two putts meant he had to settle for a par five.

I felt I needed to shoot 64 and I'm quite surprised I'm leading at the moment Ernie Els

Stenson said: "I'm happy I got off to a flying start, then left that eagle putt an inch short on three.

"But I kept plugging away, made a couple of bridies coming home, and we'll see what happens. I started two behind Ernie [before the last round] last year so we'll see.

"But I will need to go out there and play a very solid round."

The other significant mover on Saturday was Lee Westwood.

The Englishman started, like Els, on four-under-par, before hitting a 68 to be three shots off the pace, tied for third on eight-under with Graeme McDowell (69).

Woods had a chance of recovering a faltering round over the closing holes, but his birdie attempt at 17 lipped out and his second shot hit the middle of the lake at the final hole.

He said: "I never gave myself a lot of looks at birdies. I need to hit the ball better and make putts - it's not too complicated."

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Irishman Damien McGrane, playing with Woods, reached the turn in 37 but recovered well over the back nine to end with a 72.

McGrane, Woods and four others including Sergio Garcia (70) were tied for fifth at seven-under.

But it was Els who had earned pole position with a near flawless display.

He said: "It feels good, it's my first good round of the year.

"I needed to get off to a good start, and got that with birdies at the third and the fifth, then missed a couple of putts and got it going on the back nine when the wind was down.

"I felt I needed to shoot 64 and I'm quite surprised I'm leading at the moment. I was thinking I would need two 64s over the last two rounds to have a chance.