Scoring conditions were the most difficult of the week, nearly three strokes tougher than Round 2. Between the challenging weather early in the day and a difficult course setup, an under-par round beat the field average. However, average golf just won’t cut it on this leaderboard.
Tommy Fleetwood, the 36-hole co-leader, shot 3-under 67, and Patrick Canlay made a big move to join him at 16-under with a sizzling 64.
For the second consecutive day, Cantlay finished with a flurry. He made birdie at 16, 17 and 18 to catch Fleetwood at the top of the board. For the week, Cantlay played the final three holes in 9-under. Canlay has had a disappointing season by his lofty standards with just four top-10 finishes and three missed cuts at the majors. The challenge for Cantlay in this stretch has been the putter. He’s currently 59th on TOUR in Strokes Gained Putting, his worst mark since 2018. Ranked 17th in SG: Tee to Green, his ball striking has been good enough to win this season. We’ve seen more of the same this week, as he leads the field from Tee to Green, and in approach play. The difference maker however, is the flatstick. Cantlay is gaining 3.05 strokes so far on the greens, something he’s only done in four tournaments this season.
With a dialed-in golf swing and a hot putter, Cantlay has all the ingredients to win for the first time since 2022 tomorrow in the season finale. Oddsmakers at Fanduel Sportsbook currently have Cantlay at +190 to win.
Odds to win TOUR Championship provided by FanDuel sportsbooks
- +160 Tommy Fleetwood
- +190 Patrick Cantlay
- +550 Russell Henley
- +550 Scottie Scheffler
- +1400 Keegan Bradley
- +12500 Cameron Young
Fleetwood’s third-round 67 has him in a tie for the lead, and the current betting favorite according to oddsmakers at Fanduel Sportsbook. He goes off tomorrow at +160 to win his first-ever PGA TOUR event.
Fleetwood (+160 to win) showed great toughness late in the round after making a double-bogey five on the challenging par-3 15th hole. His tee shot found the water on the 220-yard island green, leaving many thinking, “Here we go again.” Fleetwood, however, stepped up. He answered right back with an 11-foot birdie putt on 16 and a 9-foot birdie putt on 17 to get back to 16-under for the week.
Tommy Fleetwood recovers with back-to-back birdies at TOUR Championship
The round of the day belonged to Keegan Bradley, who shot a 7-under 63. With his role as the U.S. Ryder Cup Captain next month at Bethpage Black, few players have drawn more attention than Bradley this season. His win at the Travelers Championship was the signature moment, leaving many to believe that he would pick himself and become the first playing captain in a Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963. However, he has fallen to 11th in the Ryder Cup points list with only one top-20 finish since the Travelers. Bradley’s strong ball-striking abilities have many believing he should be on the Ryder Cup team as a player, and they were on display today. Bradley hit 11 of 14 fairways and took advantage with his iron play.
Keegan Bradley ends day with birdie at TOUR Championship
This was his best approach play performance of the year, gaining 4.04 strokes to the field, leading the day. He hit six approach shots inside 15 feet, including a hole-out eagle from 58 yards on the par-5 sixth. This performance has Bradley at 13-under for the week, three shots off the lead. There may be some value in betting markets as well, oddsmakers at Fanduel Sportsbook have Bradley at +1400 to pull off the comeback tomorrow.
The top-ranked golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, is in the mix again. He is looking to make history and become the first golfer to win back-to-back TOUR Championships and back-to-back FedExCups. He is also the only golfer to win THE PLAYERS Championship in consecutive seasons. It will take another memorable round for Scheffler to pull this off tomorrow; He currently sits in fifth place at 12-under. His 4-under 66 was the third-best round of the day, but he still left plenty of shots out there and was visibly frustrated with his putter. Scheffler was next to last in SG: Putting, losing 2.58 strokes to the field. He missed three birdie putts from inside eight feet, and four more between 10 and 20 feet. As is the case with most Scheffler rounds, there were still plenty of positives. He led the field in SG: Off the Tee, and finished second in Proximity to the Hole. Scheffler’s 66 in round three was his 20th consecutive round in the 60s, now just one off the all-time PGA TOUR record held by co-leader Cantlay. In fifth place, Scheffler is still among the favorites to win at +550 according to oddsmakers at Fanduel Sportsbook.
