MEMPHIS — England’s Tommy Fleetwood struggled early and lost his lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championships before recovering on the back nine Saturday to remain atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the opening leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Fleetwood shot 1-under 69 and is at 14-under 196 after the third round at TPC Southwind. He will carry a one-stroke advantage into Sunday’s final round over England’s Justin Rose and a two-shot lead over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Rose posted a 67 and finished with birdies on holes 16 and 18, which sandwiched a bogey at the 17th. Fleetwood bogeyed the final hole after missing the fairway on his drive, his only missed fairway of the round. Fleetwood had a three-shot lead after 17 holes.
Fleetwood, 34, is seeking his first win on the PGA Tour. Rose, 45, is attempting to become the first player in his 40s to win on Tour this season.
Scheffler closed with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to post a 5-under 65, tied for the best round of the day, and is at 12-under 198.
U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun made the biggest move Saturday. He matched Scheffler’s 65 to advance from a tie for 11th to a tie for fourth at 11-under 199. Andrew Novak is also at 199 after making back-to-back pars to end his round.
Rickie Fowler shot a 66 to put himself in position to qualify for the second round of the playoffs. He’s tied for sixth at 9-under 201 and just inside the top 50 in the Cup standings.
Those who finish in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings after Sunday’s round will advance to next week’s BMW Championship — the second of the PGA Tour’s three playoff tournaments — in Owings Mills, Md.
Fleetwood has had five top-five finishes this season, including a runner-up showing at the Travelers Championship in June.
Rose was runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the Masters and had two top-20 finishes — sixth at the Scottish Open and 16th at The Open — last month.
–Phil Stukenborg, Field Level Media
