World number one Scottie Scheffler remains on course to complete his outstanding season with the $25-million FedEx Cup title, while Shane Lowry has pushed his way into the top 10 heading into Sunday’s final round.
The Offaly man shot back-to-back 69s in round one and two and found himself static on the leaderboard, but moving day proved to be just that and his six-under 65 propelled him up to eighth.
It was a day where Lowry’s irons were hot and his putter even hotter as he ranked second in Strokes-Gained-Approach and first in Strokes-Gained-Putting, making seven birdies and just the one bogey to climb six spots on the leaderboard and put himself on course for a multi-million dollar payout.
“Yeah, it just kind of came together,” said Lowry afterwards. “I felt like I played — a big key to this golf course is driving the ball in the fairway. I drove the ball well the first days and didn’t really get much out of my rounds.
“Yeah, to take away there and shoot a number today was really nice. Obviously I’m a long way behind. But trying to finish up as far up this leaderboard as I can to top off what has been a pretty good season out here.”
Rory McIlroy sits two shots further back on -11 after a 68 of his own, which was also his lowest round of the week thus far. The Holywood man shook off two early bogeys and birdied six of his next 12 holes to move to -12 through 14. A bogey on 15 halted his charge, and he finished with three pars to end the day tied for 10th.
Collin Morikawa was the hottest player over the opening two rounds, but he failed to close the gap on Scheffler on Saturday, carding a four-under par 67 while Scheffler went one better with a round of 66.
The Masters champion and Olympic Gold Medal winner began the week on 10-under-par in the staggered scoring system used for the season finale which determines the FedEx Cup playoff winner, just like he had in the two previous Tour Championships, but this time Scheffler has shown no signs of opening the door.
Despite three stellar rounds, Morikawa, who began the week six strokes back, has managed to reduce the gap by just one and will need the world number one to falter in Sunday’s final round if he’s to claim top prize.
Scheffler offered a glimmer of hope when he bogeyed the opener, but that was the only blemish on the 28-year-old’s scorecard and the three-birdie finish helped ensure the cushion he’s enjoyed right from the off remained.
“Keep doing what I’ve been doing, staying in the moment, staying patient out there,” said Scheffler when asked what the gameplan was for the final round. “I’ve bogeyed the first hole two of the last three days and both times I didn’t make any bogeys after that. So that’s kind of good momentum for me.
“I feel like I’ve done a lot of stuff well and played solid, so I’m looking forward to the challenge of trying to finish off the tournament tomorrow.”
Morikawa had to wait until the par-5 sixth hole for his opening birdie but cancelled it out with a bogey on the next hole, but by matching Scheffler’s late birdie blitz he ensures that Sunday will provide a little drama at least.
“Solid. Not exactly the moving day that I needed, but I knew this entire week I was going to need something special to come out on top and I’m going to need something very special,” said Morikawa.
“It’s going to be very hard, but I believe in myself that I can do it. Five shots is a lot, but two-shot swings happen. I think I’ve seen a couple over the past few days.
“I’ve got to go low. I know that. Hopefully I’ve got that in me today. I’ve got 18 holes left to the season. I keep talking about that, but I’m going to put everything I have into these next 24 hours.”
Sahith Theegala is nine back in third place, but is guaranteed to win over many fans after the American himself called in a rules official after suspecting that he saw the sand move before his shot from a fairway bunker, effectively calling a two-stroke penalty on himself.
“I felt like I moved a few grains of sand for sure. In my peripheral, I thought I saw some of the sand move as I took my backswing,” said Theegala, who didn’t feel he gained any advantage from the sand movement which he described as “insignificant”.
“But unfortunately the rule is it doesn’t matter the intent. If you change the lie in the direct area around the ball that could affect your swing, it is a two-shot penalty,” he added.
Theegala recovered in style, however, as he finished his round with five straight birdies to nose one ahead of Xander Schauffele with Wyndham Clark one further back.
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