FedExCup leader Patrick Cantlay recorded six birdies for a third-round 67 to reach 20-under, good for a two-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round of the Tour Championship.
Jon Rahm is seeking to become the second consecutive FedExCup champion to win while ranked No. 1 in the world.
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Cantlay reached 21-under for the week with a birdie on the par-4 10th to assume a four-shot lead before bogeys on 11, 14 and 16 cut it to one shot. He birdied the 18th hole to finish at 20-under.
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This is his third career 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour; 1-for-2 to date converting to victory (2021 BMW Championship).
He held a share of the 54-hole lead with Bryson DeChambeau at last week’s BMW Championship before winning with a birdie-3 on the sixth playoff hole.
Cantlay looks to become the second player in the Starting Strokes era to enter and finish the week at No. 1 in the FedExCup (2020, Dustin Johnson).
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He is making his fourth appearance at the TOUR Championship (T21/2019, T21/2018, T20/2017) and is seeking his fourth title this season, his first season with more than one victory.
Rahm (2nd/-18) marked just the fourth time in his Tour career in which he’s in second place entering the final round of a tournament (best finish: T2/2020 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP).
He held a share of the 54-hole lead two weeks ago at THE NORTHERN TRUST but bogeyed two of his final four holes in the final round to fall two shots shy of a Tony Finau/Cameron Smith playoff (won by Finau).
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He is making his fifth appearance at the TOUR Championship (4th/2020, T12/2019, T11/2018, T7/2017).
Notched top-10 results at first two FedExCup Playoffs events (T3/THE NORTHERN TRUST, T9/BMW Championship).
Justin Thomas (3rd/-15) recorded his only bogey of the day with a three-putt on the par-5 18th for a third-round 65, matching Saturday’s low round.
He earned six of his 14 Tour titles after trailing through 54 holes, most recently winning the 2021 PLAYERS Championship after entering the final round three shots back of Lee Westwood, T3.
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He entered the third round at the TOUR Championship trailing Cantlay by seven shots. He has twice come from seven back through 36 holes to win on Tour (2021 PLAYERS; 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational).
Thomas has finished no lower than T7 in five previous TOUR Championship appearances, including a runner-up finish in 2020.
Sungjae Im reached 493 total birdies for the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, tying the all-time record since 1980.
Brooks Koepka withdrew after 12 holes with a left wrist injury.
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