A title-winning end to a very impressive season remains in Matt Wallace’s but he will head into the final round of the DP World Tour Championship as a hunter, rather than the hunted.

The Moor Park professional had led the field by one shot overnight in Dubai, but a one-under-par third round of 71 will see him start the final 18 holes in a tie for fourth places, two shots behind joint leaders Patrick Reed and Danny Willett.

The four-time European Tour winner made a blistering start to his third round by birdying the opening three holes to race to 14-under and establish an early three-shot cushion over the field.

The 28-year-old consolidated that position, only for his advantage to evaporate on the eighth hole when a double bogey six knocked some of the wind out of his sails as he dropped a shot for the first time in 31 holes.

Wallace then slipped back to even par for the round with a bogey four at the 13th, but quickly moved back into the red numbers with a birdie four at 14 to finish alongside Lee Westwood and Dean Burmester on minus-12 at the finale to the European Tour season.

Wallace goes into tomorrow seeking the biggest win of his career in the Rolex Series event, the European Tour’s premier category of tournaments, to add to his 2018 victories at the Hero Indian Open, BMW International Open and Made in Denmark.