Kaymer leads Abu Dhabi Championship by 1 stroke after third straight 67

Kaymer leads Abu Dhabi by 1 shot after 3rd round

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Germany’s Martin Kaymer shot his third straight 5-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead in the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Kaymer won the 2008 tournament and tied for second last year.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Ian Poulter were tied for second. They both shot 67s. Sweden’s Peter Hanson (70) was 13 under.

Kaymer is playing with a plate in his foot that doctors put in after he broke three bones following a go-karting accident last summer.

“If I have the plate taken out I will need another two to two and a half weeks to recover,” he said. “And I never really get a break for three weeks during the season. I don’t want to miss tournaments in a Ryder Cup year. But I do seem to be able to play good golf with it still in place.”

And it’s worth putting up with a bit of pain to play on a course where he’s had success.

“There are certain shots where I still have to be careful when I play with the ball below my feet; it hurts a bit,” he said. “But I do like this course. I always seem to play well here because all the tee shots seem to suit my eye.”

Kaymer began the third round two shots behind the halfway leader Rick Kulacz, but the Australian struggled to a 73 and was four shots behind.

Sergio Garcia of Spain had a 74 and was six shots back, while Anthony Kim shot a 68 and was seven strokes off the lead.

(This version CORRECTS EDITS; corrects Hanson to 13 under.)