ATLANTA — Viktor Hovland and Ryan Gerard are not going away.
They are, however, being chased by some big names with major credentials. Names like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are right on their heels.
Norway’s Hovland shot a 5-under-par 65 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Gerard after three rounds of the Tour Championship, the finale of the FedEx Cup playoffs, at East Lake Golf Club. Hovland is 15-under 195, and Gerard is 14-under 196 for the tournament heading into Sunday. Hovland, the 2023 Tour Championship winner, holds a three-stroke lead over the remainder of the field.
“It’s pretty bunched up around 11- and 12-under par there,” Hovland said. “I mean, you’ve seen some 62s out there. You can take it low. So, it was nice to get a little bit of distance, especially from the group of guys that are around that number.”
Scheffler is in a group tied for third at 12 under. The four-time major champion and 2024 Tour Championship winner shot a steady 4 under. Australia’s Adam Scott, Ludvig Aberg of Sweden and Chris Gotterup are also tied for third. Scott, who made 132 feet worth of putts, and Aberg each shot 5 under.
Scheffler was not concerned with the crowded leaderboard — or with the big names who fill it.
“I won’t think much past just getting in the fairway on the 1st hole and try and attack from there,” Scheffler said.
The stage is set for Sunday’s final round and a run at the $10 million first prize.
“I think it was just the course setup was extremely fair,” said Gerard, who made par saves at Nos. 14, 15 and 17. “It was kind of giving you pins that you could take on, but there was some risk. There were bogeys lurking if you mis-hit it to kind of some of these tucked pins.”
McIlroy shot himself into contention from near the back of the pack. He shot a 7-under 63 to move to 10 under and is tied for seventh, five strokes behind. The six-time major winner owns three Tour Championship titles (2016, 2019, 2022).
Three straight birdies, on Nos. 15-17, pulled McIlroy into a tie for first. After his approach to the par-5 18th landed in the 10th fairway, and McIlroy scrambled for par, he was a shot behind Gerard, Hovland and Gotterup, all at 11 under at the time. Not bad for someone who was in the fourth pairing out.
“It’s great to have another opportunity,” said McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who has won three FedEx Cup titles. “I played in the final group last week with Wyndham (Clark) and got myself in a really good position to try to win the tournament, and it didn’t quite happen. To shoot a good one today to get myself right back in there second week in a row to try to win a tournament, they’re good steps, positive steps, steps in the right direction.”
In keeping with the theme of going low while playing alone, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre was first out Saturday and shot a 7-under 63. Cameron Young shot 8 under alone on Friday, and Australia’s Min Woo Lee shot 6 under over the final 13 holes after J.J. Spaun withdrew Thursday.
East Lake has been conducive to scoring. Of the 87 completed rounds over three days, only seven were over par, with more than half coming in Saturday’s third round.
“Yeah, it’s been just one of those weeks where I’ve been able to put it together every single day for three days,” Hovland said. “So that’s really cool. I think, even though the green complexes are different here, I do like — for some reason, it’s so opposite to what I’ve grown up playing in back home in Norway. You don’t ever get to see Bermuda greens rolling 13 on the Stimp.
“But for some reason, I do feel comfortable. I do feel like I’m reading the greens really well, and as soon as I find a read, I’m just super comfortable over the ball. Yeah, it’s been awesome.”
–Chris Vivlamore, Field Level Media
