| -12 P Cantlay (US); -11 X Schauffele (US), S Stallings (US); -10 A Scott (Aus), S Scheffler (US); -9 C Morikawa (US), A Wise (US). |
| Selected others: -7 R McIlroy (NI) -6 T Hatton (Eng); -5 S Lowry (Ire), J Rahm (Spa); -2 K Bradley (US) Level: M Fitzpatrick (Eng) |
| Leaderboard |
Defending champion Patrick Cantlay will take a one-stroke lead into last round of the BMW Championship, the second event of the FedEx Cup play-offs.
The American world number four, 30, started the day two shots behind halfway leader Adam Scott of Australia.
But he holed a 43-foot birdie putt at the first and picked up five more shots and made one eagle in a 65.
The six-under round at Wilmington in Delaware leaves him one clear of Xander Schauffele and Scott Stallings.
Schauffele’s bogey-free third round included an eagle, three birdies and 14 pars while fellow American Stallings carded a 66 that featured six birdies.
Scott – the only non-American in the top seven – is a shot further back on 10 under alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler after a two-under 69 that included four birdies and two bogeys.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy failed to keep pace with the leaders and is five shots behind Cantlay following a 70.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton is on six under while Shane Lowry of Ireland and Spaniard Jon Rahm are a stroke further back.
Cantlay, bidding to become the first player in the brief history of the FedEx Cup post-season to successfully defend a tournament title, got to the turn at three under after he followed his opening birdie by picking up further shots at the third and seventh.
A bogey on the par-four 11th briefly slowed his progress but he responded with back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th before a magnificent eagle three from 104 yards on the par-5 14th.
It took him a shot clear of the field and although he dropped a shot at the 17th, missing a three-foot par putt, he responded with another birdie at the 18th to finish his round on a high.
“I hit the ball really well today,” Cantlay said.
“I left a few out there but I think it was really about my bounce backs – after the two bogeys I made which were mistakes, I made birdies on the next two holes and got back into the round and kept the momentum to take into tomorrow.”
