MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood had a three-shot swing go against him early and a two-shot swing cost him on the final hole Saturday in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He did enough right in between for a 1-under 69 and a one-shot lead over Justin Rose as he goes for his first PGA Tour title.
If that wasn’t enough, Scottie Scheffler had a huge presence only two shots back.
Still, those two holes were a reminder to Fleetwood that 18 holes can feel a long way off at the TPC Southwind. There figures to be plenty of pressure at the top and scattered among the rest of the field trying to advance in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“It’s just another opportunity for me to go out and try and have the best round of golf I can, enjoy being in that position,” Fleetwood said. “The more I put myself there, the more chance there is of it happening, and just go out and keep learning from every experience. But tomorrow might be my day, it might not, but being there is the most important thing, and I’ll continue to try and do that.”
Fleetwood, who has won plenty on big stages around the world but not on the PGA Tour, started the third round with a three-shot lead over Rose, who had to finish his storm-delayed second round in the morning.
On the par-5 third, Fleetwood’s second shot came up short and into the water. He took his penalty drop, and then hit wedge over the green into a bunker. Fleetwood said he noticed his golf ball move ever so slightly on his swing with the wedge.
Rules officials studied the video and determined that if it moved — they couldn’t determine if it did because it was so slight — Fleetwood didn’t cause it and no penalty was issued. He made double bogey, and Rose ran off three straight birdies to take the lead.
“The third was just such a kerfuffle and such a mess,” he said. “It was not that bad of a second shot, but it’s obviously a terrible shot if it’s in the water. From there, drop, sort of felt like the ball had moved when I hit it, thinned it over the back, just made a double for nothing really.”
Fleetwood rebounded to not only regain the lead but build it back to three shots. But on the 18th hole, he drove into the rough, couldn’t reach the green and made bogey to finish 54 holes at 14-under 196.
Rose hit out of the rough to 5 feet from the front pin for his first birdie since the seventh hole. That gave him a 67 and put him in the final group with his Ryder Cup teammate.
Scheffler, meanwhile, put together six birdies in his round of 65 and was two shots behind. He made his lone bogey on No. 10, and Scheffler avoided another when his bunker shot on No. 12 hit a sprinkler that kept it from going on the green. He holed a 25-foot putt from the fringe.
Scheffler, already assured of keeping the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup playoffs, is going for his fifth win of the year. He has not finished out of the top 10 since March.
U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun (65) and Andrew Novak (67) were three shots behind.
Sunday is one of the more critical days on the PGA Tour, and not just for Fleetwood. The top 50 in the FedEx Cup advance to the second playoff event at the BMW Championship and are assured of getting into all the $20 million signature events next year.
Rickie Fowler and Chris Kirk each had a 66 and were projected to move into the top 50, along with Bud Cauley and Jhonattan Vegas.
Among those who could get bumped out are Jordan Spieth, who had to settle for another 70. Key for the players like Fowler and Cauley are staying high on the leaderboard because those are worth more points and they have more room to make up.
For Fleetwood, it’s about winning.
He is No. 15 in the world. He has starred in two Ryder Cups for Europe and won against strong fields. But the lack of a PGA Tour title is becoming a burden. He had a one-shot lead on the final hole at the Travelers Championship in June until taking three putts from just off the green and losing to Keegan Bradley’s birdie.
His hope in June was to get another chance sooner rather than later, and his next one is Sunday at the TPC Southwind.
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