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On dusty day in the desert, Woods showed an uncanny ability to repeatedly rally. He finished with a total of 7-under 209, behind second-round leader McIlroy (75), Denmark's Anders Hansen (71) and South Africa's Thomas Aiken (74).
Woods shouldn't even be in contention going into Sunday. But the tough conditions took their toll on most of the top players, with McIlroy finishing at 3 over and Sergio Garcia - who was eight shots ahead of Woods after nine holes - finishing at 3 over and tied with Woods and five other players.
In an uneven round, Woods had an eagle, four birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.
"The fact I was able to battle from 4 over par and put myself with a chance going into tomorrow, I'm proud of that," Woods said. "Hopefully, I can build on that."
Woods started badly with bogeys on the first two holes, mostly from errant drives that went well left of the fairway. He pulled a shot back on the third with a birdie. But he bogeyed the eighth and ended up with a double bogey on the ninth after his approach shot got caught up in the wind, dropped just short of the green and rolled in the water.
At the turn, Woods showed some of his trademark resilience. He responded with an eagle on the 10th, chipping in from 35 feet. He followed that with a birdie that seemed to settle him down. But after running off several pars, his putting woes returned with a bogey on No. 16 - prompting Woods to swear before ending with "Come on Tiger."
The former top-ranked player pulled out on all the stops on 17, driving to the back edge of the green on the 359-yard hole. But his chip ran past the hole and he missed an easy birdie putt.
He played cautiously on the 18th, choosing to lay up rather than drive the green. It paid off when he managed to curl in a 30-foot putt, prompting a fist pump as the gallery cheered.
Woods is seeking his first tournament victory in more than a year. He won in Dubai in 2006 and 2008.
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