Daniel Hillier birdied the final two holes to shoot 2-under 70 on Saturday and take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic as the No. 223-ranked New Zealander goes for the biggest win of his career.

Tyrrell Hatton shot 68 in the third round and was the closest challenger to the 26-year-old Hillier, whose only win on the European tour came at the British Masters in July 2023. He hasn’t had a top-10 finish since the Open de España in October 2023.

Hillier was 13-under par for the week.

“It would be life-changing,” Hillier said.

“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. Gave myself a little bit of a break and time to reset, and I’m feeling refreshed. Yeah, excited for tomorrow.”

Rory McIlroy, seeking a third straight title at the prestigious tournament, was seven shots off the pace in a tie for 12th place after a round of 69. He was 1 over after the front nine, having failed to make a single birdie.

“I’d need to go out and shoot 63 tomorrow,” the No. 3-ranked McIlroy said. “If the conditions are right, I’ve been able to do that before, especially if you can make a score on the front nine before that scorable back nine.

“My key tomorrow is if I can get off to a faster start and shoot three or four (under) on the front, then I have a chance.”

Ewen Ferguson of Scotland led after the second round but shot 74 to drop to third place at 10 under, three strokes behind Hillier.

Hatton, who plays on the LIV Golf circuit, looks to be the biggest threat to Hillier. The seven-time winner of a European tour title rolled in an 8-foot putt for eagle at No. 2 and then recovered from three bogeys in a six-hole span to close the front nine with four birdies and five pars coming home.

Ernie Els won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii for his seventh PGA Tour Champions victory, closing with a 6-under 66 to beat Bernard Langer, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alex Cejka by two strokes.

The 67-year-old Langer missed a chance to win for the 19th straight season on the 50-and-over tour. The German star won the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship last year for his record-extending 47th senior title.

Els finished at 18-under 198 at Hualalai Golf Course. Playing alongside Els and Cejka in the final group, Langer parred the final four holes in a 66. Jimenez closed with a 64, and Cejka shot 68.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian have agreed on a new contract more than a week after the Longhorns were knocked out of the College Football Playoff, according to media reports.

The Action Network first reported the new deal that it said came after Sarkisian declined interviews with two NFL teams for coaching spots. ESPN reported Saturday that the deal for the 50-year-old Sarkisian is for seven years.

Under Sarkisian, the Longhorns reached the Southeastern Conference title game in their first season in the league. The Longhorns lost to Georgia 22-19 in overtime.

Texas advanced to the College Football Playoff and beat Clemson before getting past Arizona State in double overtime in the Peach Bowl. The Longhorns’ season ended in the CFP semifinals with a 28-14 loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Last February, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a raise and contract for Sarkisian that boosted his guaranteed salary to $10.3 million this season.

Sarkisian is 38-17 in four seasons with the Longhorns and led them to the Big 12 title in 2023.

WINTER SPORTS

Kaysha Love of the U.S. placed second in a World Cup monobob race on Saturday in Igls, Austria, her best finish of the season.

Love won a bronze in a two-woman race at Sigulda, Latvia, in December, then dealt with a virus over the holiday break and slumped a bit in her first three outings since that illness — finishing no better than 10th.

Love, a 2026 U.S. Olympic hopeful, roared back Saturday in Igls with the second-best time in both heats — finishing second to Lisa Buckwitz of Germany by 0.04 seconds. Laura Nolte of Germany was third.

In two-man earlier Saturday at Igls, Germany got its seventh overall sweep of the medal positions so far in this World Cup season.

Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer got the win, Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schüller were second, and Adam Ammour and Nick Stadelmann were third.

Frank del Duca of the U.S. was a season-best fourth, his sled getting pushed by Charles Volker.

In the luge, Julia Taubitz of Germany won a women’s singles World Cup race at Winterberg, Germany, edging Madeleine Egle of Austria for the victory.

Emily Sweeney of the U.S. was third, her second singles medal of the season.

Chevonne Forgan and Sophie Kirkby of the U.S. finished seventh but remained third overall in the season-long standings.

The top U.S. sled in men’s doubles was Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa, which placed ninth.

SOCCER

This camp for the U.S. men’s national team is primarily about giving young players opportunities. And U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino liked what he saw on that front Saturday.

Patrick Agyemang and Matko Miljevic scored in their international debuts, Jack McGlynn got his first national team goal and the United States beat Venezuela 3-1 in a friendly between teams missing their regular starters.

McGlynn and Agyemang scored about two minutes apart late in the first half and Miljevic, whose third-minute penalty kick was saved, struck in the 64th minute.

“I think today not only we saw good players and good performance. ... We played like a team,” Pochettino said. “We respected some rules and concepts.”

McGlynn connected on a left-footed strike from about 30 yards in the 37th minute, Agyemang deflected a shot off goalkeeper Wuilker Faríñez not long afterward.