Connor Syme inspired by Jon Rahm as he fires equal best-of-day 64 at Yas Links

Connor Syme sought inspiration from Jon Rahm as the Scot catapulted himself up the leaderboard in the third round of the $9 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Connor Syme tees off on the 11th hole in the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

Helped by putting sessions in the garage at his Drumoig home during a short off-season break, the 27-year-old shot an eight-under-par 64 – the joint-best of the day along with three-time major winner Padraig Harrington – at Yas Links to move to ten-under.

The nine-birdie effort was even more pleasing for Syme, who was watched by his dad/coach Stuart, after starting the penultimate circuit in the Rolex Series event with a bogey.

“That was disappointing,” said the Scot, who’d opened with a 68 before slipping back after adding a 74. “But I said to my caddie ‘Jon Rahm started with a bogey and shot ten-under (to win the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions in Hawaii earlier this month).

“I was like ‘anything can happen, I suppose’ and I kind of just tried to have that mindset really, trying to make as many birdies as I could to get back in the tournament and we were able to do that.

“I three-putted the second as well, so it was a really disappointing start, but I kept battling on, trying to keep my processes good, trying to hit my numbers and, once I started getting the feel for the putts going in, I got a really good feel for the speed and managed to hole quite a few putts.”

Syme works with Andy Paisley, brother of DP World Tour winner Chris, on his putting, which he is now able to do some extremely worthwhile practice on at home even in the deep winter.

“I’ve invested in a small putting green in my garage,” he said. “It’s good enough to keep my stuff ticking over inside ten feet and it has a laser above it that shows you the lines. Investing in that has definitely helped and, obviously with it being at home, it means I can do something every day.”

Syme finished in the top 30 in last season’s Race to Dubai after signing off the season with a 67 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates to tie for 12th behind Rahm in the DP World Tour Championship.

“Everything was progressing well towards the end of the season and I took a lot of confidence from my last round in Dubai and it’s just about trying to make marginal gains, getting slightly better at everything,” said the former Australian Amateur champion.

“Me and my dad have been doing a lot of good stuff for a long time now and it’s about not trying to get too far from that and that we are on the right path.

“We’ve got a really good direction about where I’m trying to head across my full game, so it feels good to have a really good structure.”