Matt Fitzpatrick is in the lead, Rory McIlroy is one back

• Champion Matt Fitzpatrick leads Rory McIlroy and Aaron Rai by one stroke.
• Pair are at 10-under par heading into the final round of Italian Open.
• American Victor Perez twice reached 10 under but fell back to eight.
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Matt Fitzpatrick will lead Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Aaron Rai of England by one stroke in the Italian Open’s final round.

With a score of 69, Fitzpatrick, the US Open champion, was at 10-under par.

McIlroy’s up-and-down 71, which included a birdie at the last, assured that he and Fitzpatrick would be in the last group on Sunday.

Rai shot a bogey-free 65 to move up the leaderboard by 18 spots.

Fitzpatrick didn’t record a birdie on his front nine, but he improved on the 10th and 12th holes before a four on the par-five 18th hole gave him the 54-hole lead by himself.

The four-time major champion McIlroy started the round with five consecutive pars before dropping a stroke at the following hole despite having just birdied the sixth.

The 33-year-old lost a stroke due to a three-putt on the par-five 12th, but he recovered with birdies on the 16th and 18th holes, each side of a shot that was dropped on the 17th, to remain very much in contention.

McIlroy leads the DP World Tour rankings after winning his third PGA Tour FedEx Cup title last month. A victory this week would extend his lead at the top of the standings.

At Rome’s Marco Simone Club, which will host the Ryder Cup next year, only two-time DP World Tour champion Rai finished his round without making a bogey.

Frenchman Victor Perez twice reached 10 under during a rollercoaster round of 69, however, a double bogey six on the 14th moved him back to eight under. While he holed a superb 76ft eagle putt to return to that mark, a bogey-bogey finish left the 30-year-old two shots back.

American Kurt Kitayama (67) and Australia’s Lucas Herbert (68) are alongside Perez on eight under with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (67) a shot further back.