ATLANTA — Tommy Fleetwood is still in position to win his first PGA Tour tournament — one of the biggest — but he’s sure making it interesting.
Fleetwood lost his lead at the Tour Championship after hitting it in the water on the par-3 15th hole in the third round of the FedEx Cup playoff finale at East Lake Golf Club Saturday. He ended up making double bogey to fall to 14-under par. At the same time, Patrick Cantlay made the second of two straight birdies on the 17th hole to move to 15-under and take the lead that Fleetwood had enjoyed all day, at times by as many as three strokes.
At the end of the day, Fleetwood overcame the mishap and he and Cantlay stand tied for the lead at 16-under going into Sunday’s final round.
Fleetwood (67) bounced back from the water ball with a birdie on the 16th hole to move back into a tie with Cantlay at 15-under. Cantlay (64) answered back with birdie on the 18th to move to 16-under. Fleetwood then birdied the 17th and parred the 18th.
Cantlay, the 2021 FedEx Cup champion, birdied the final three holes and four of the last five.
Russell Henley (69), who shared the second-round lead with Fleetwood, is third at 14-under. Keegan Bradley (63) is fourth at 13-under.
Scottie Scheffler is still lurking. The world’s No. 1 golfer and leader in the FedEx Cup point standings started the third round five shots back of Fleetwood and Henley. He trended in the wrong direction with bogeys on the first two holes. However, birdies in five of the next eight holes righted his round. He stands in fifth at 12-under (66).
Bradley added suspense with big drama inside the tournament. The U.S. Ryder Cup captain stands at 13-under to move into serious contention. His round included an eagle from the fairway on the par-5 sixth hole and ended with three straight birdies. Bradley has six captain’s picks to make for the Ryder Cup team on Wednesday. The question is whether he should choose himself, becoming the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. That year’s international competition was also played at East Lake.
“I was so tired Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” said Bradley, who admitted to being preoccupied with Ryder Cup decisions and strategy this week. “I was really just truthfully trying to get through this week. This is a bit surprising, but just I really played spectacularly today. I’m really proud of this round.”
Fleetwood is close enough to taste his first PGA Tour victory — again. His near misses have been well documented. He entered the Tour Championship fifth in the points standings, the highest-ranked player in the 30-player field without a win. In the past two weeks, he has finished tied for fourth and tied for third in the playoff events, the St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship. Fleetwood also has seven top-10 finishes this year and a total of 30 top-fives without a victory.
Rain fell throughout the day, necessitating the preferred lie rule for the third straight day, but play was never in jeopardy of being halted.
Scoring was up significantly in the third round after two days of record scoring. In the first two rounds, a tournament record was set with 13 rounds of 64 or better, reached after just 36 holes. Only Bradley and Cantlay went that low on Saturday. In the first two rounds, only five players shot over par. On Sunday, nine players did so.
–Chris Vivlamore, Field Level Media
