Saturday January 23, 2010, 06:16 PM

Martin Kaymer shot his third successive round of five-under-par 67 to lead the 1.5 million euro Abu Dhabi Golf Championship by one stroke and on course to repeat his success here in the 2008 edition.

Going into the final day, the super-talented German - who was second here last year - was at 15-under-par 201, but snapping at his heels were Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Ian Poulter of England.

The two were tied for second place after identical rounds of 67 each which put them at 14-under 202.

Swede Peter Hanson was alone in fourth place at 203, while Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, England's Chris Wood and Ireland's Shane Lowry were a further shot behind.

Overnight leader, Rick Kulacz of Australia could only manage a 73 and was eighth at 205.

Kaymer, who led by six shots going into the final day of the 2008 championship, finally won the tournament by four shots over Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood for his maiden win on the European Tour.

But he had a bit of a wobble that day as he won with a 74.

The 25-year-old has since won three more titles, including the French Open and Scottish Open in back-to-back weeks last year, and is confident the experience he has gained will stand him in good stead as he tries to go one better than his second place finish last year.

"Even thought I was leading by six shots on the final day, I played really shy. I didn't go for the flags and my putting....I left quite a few of them short. My confidence wasn't really there," said Kaymer.

"Obviously, I have played a few years on the European Tour since then and won a couple of big events. I have learnt a lot and I will surely play a lot differently now."

Kaymer, who is still playing with plates on his ankle following his surgery last year after a go-karting accident, said his schedule does not give him enough time to take off the plates, even though he does not need them now.

"I could take the plates off today really...it has healed. The problem is that if I took them out, then it would take at least three weeks to recover, and at the moment, I don't have three weeks off in my schedule.

"I am not uncomfortable with the plates on. On certain shots, I'm a little bit more careful. So, I'm going to wait until the middle of the season and take them out in September."

Kaymer will also be boosted by his terrific playing record at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, where he has finished 1-2 in the last two years.

"I really like the golf course in general and especially coming from such a long break, five or six weeks when I was in America, you arrive feeling really motivated and can't really wait to play golf again.

"I feel very comfortable out here. It felt very similar to the desert in Phoenix where I practise in the wintertime, so that's why probably I just feel very comfortable coming here."

McIlroy had no problems in tackling the tough course conditions, but developed 'stage fright' thereafter, when he took more than an hour to submit his samples for a random drug test.

"I got stage fright, because, obviously, they have to watch you do everything.

"I think I drank three litres of water in the space of about 20 minutes. The whole process is pretty long anyway. You have to pick your cup, make sure it's not tampered with, and once you've made your sample, you've got to seal it and put it in three separate bottles.

"This is the first time I've had to do it on the European Tour. I did it last year at the Honda Classic, and I had to wait for Sergio (Garcia) in front of me, who took about two-and-a-half hours trying. So, an hour is not bad really!"

© 2010 AFP/sid