ATLANTA — Scottie Scheffler birdied 4 of his final 5 holes Saturday at East Lake for a 5-under 66 that stored Collin Morikawa at bay and moved the No. 1 participant in golf one spherical away from capping his season with a $25 million FedEx Cup prize.
Scheffler prolonged his result in 5 photographs over Morikawa going into the ultimate spherical of the Tour Championship, and nobody else was nearer than 9 photographs.
Sahith Theegala may need been two photographs nearer apart from calling a two-shot penalty on himself on the third gap for frivolously touching the sand together with his membership out of a bunker. Video was not fully clear, however Theegala knowledgeable officers and his par became a double bogey.
“Fairly certain I breached the foundations, so I am paying the worth for it, and I be ok with it,” Theegala stated. “I am not 100% certain. However I would say I am 98, 99% certain that some sand was moved.”
He responded with seven birdies on the again 9 and shot 66, leaving him 9 photographs behind. The final participant to win a PGA Tour occasion after trailing by nine-plus photographs getting into the ultimate spherical was Stewart Cink on the 2004 MCI Heritage (trailed Ted Purdy by 9 by means of 54 holes).
Morikawa, who began the match six photographs behind Scheffler because the No. 7 seed, obtained inside two photographs of the lead when he holed a birdie putt from simply inside 10 ft on the par-5 sixth gap.
However that was as shut as he obtained. On the following gap, Scheffler holed a 15-foot birdie putt whereas Morikawa got here up wanting the inexperienced, lagged a putt to simply exterior 3 ft and missed it, a two-shot swing that restored Scheffler’s result in 4.
Morikawa three-putted for par from 60 ft on the par-5 fifteenth, after which birdied three of his final 4 holes for a 67. He wound up shedding a little bit extra floor to Scheffler.
“Not precisely the transferring day that I wanted, however I knew this whole week I used to be going to wish one thing particular to come back out on high and I will want one thing very particular,” Morikawa stated. “However I consider in myself, and hopefully that comes out tomorrow.”
Scheffler was at 26-under par. The five-shot lead will not be the most important since this format started in 2019. Scheffler had a six-shot lead two years in the past, closed with a 73 and completed one shot behind a hard-charging Rory McIlroy. Within the final 60 years, just one participant has blown a number of leads of five-plus photographs getting into a closing spherical — Homosexual Brewer on the 1966 Event of Champions (5 photographs) and the 1969 Danny Thomas-Diplomat Basic (6 photographs), each instances shedding to Arnold Palmer.
A yr in the past, Scheffler began because the No. 1 seed and had just one spherical beneath par.
“I really feel like I’ve finished plenty of stuff effectively and performed strong, so I am wanting ahead to the problem of making an attempt to complete off the match tomorrow,” he stated.
British Open and PGA champion Xander Schauffele by no means obtained on observe. Beginning the day 5 photographs behind, he had two bogeys within the opening 4 holes and did not birdie the three par 5s in his spherical of 71. He was 10 photographs behind.
He has by no means hit greater than seven fairways every of the three rounds, and it has value him at a time when he wanted to go low to remain within the recreation.
“I used to be simply not taking part in effectively sufficient to shoot consecutive 7-under pars,” Schauffele stated. “You have to be hitting at the very least 12 fairways to offer your self some severe seems to be after which clearly do plenty of good after that, however it begins together with your ball on the brief stuff.”
For everybody else, it is a race for money.
The FedEx Cup winner will get $25 million, with second place value $12.5 million and third place paying $7.5 million.
Info from The Related Press was used on this report.
