Tommy Fleetwood faces yet another nervy night’s sleep as the Englishman holds a one-shot lead with a maiden PGA Tour title in sight as Jason Day is set to be the only Australian to advance to the next phase of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Fleetwood (-14) began the third round with a three-shot lead but a one-under par round of 69 reduced the gap from countryman Justin Rose (-13).
Rose even took a two-shot lead at one point as he started his round on fire with four birdies in five holes from holes three to seven on his way to a 67, while Fleetwood stumbled early with a double bogey at the par 5 third.
FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports, is streaming The 2025 PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
The pair were sipping wine in Portugal together a week ago, and now will face off in the final group for a second straight round after Rose birdied the last as Fleetwood bogeyed to reduce the gap.
It is not a two-horse race, however, with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler (-12) breathing down their necks.
The Open and US PGA champion is chasing a fifth win in nine starts and gave himself a good chance to do so with a five-under par round of 65.
US Open champion J.J. Spaun (-11) also shot a 65 – the equal low round of the day alongside Scheffler, Taylor Pendrith and Xander Schauffele.
Spaun sits alongside Andrew Novak in a share of fourth, and after Oakmont, Spaun too boasts final round pedigree to heap the pressure on Fleetwood.
The world No.15 had a more comfortable three shot buffer at the beginning of the final round at the Travelers Championship in June.
Fleetwood then shot a two-over par 72 with a bogey at the last sealing his fate as US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley snatched victory with a birdie in the same group.
A breakthrough win for the 34-year-old would continue a PGA Tour trend this year of players overcoming their winless droughts.
Cameron Young claimed his first Tour title at last week’s Wyndham Championship after seven runner-up finishes.
Brian Campbell won for the first time after 187 starts across the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour at the Mexico Open in February.
For Fleetwood, finishing the job would mean adding an 11th win worldwide to his resume, but he has never lifted a trophy on the primary US Tour after several near misses.
He has twice finished runner-up in a major (2018 US Open and 2019 Open Championship) and boasts an Olympic silver medal.
In Tour events, he lost in a playoff at the Canadian Open in 2023 as well as runner-up finishes at the 2017 WGC – Mexico Championship and the Travelers Championship earlier this year.
Fleetwood has been successful enough to accumulate more than US$30 million (A$45.97m) on the PGA Tour but he is the only player to do so without a win.
Meanwhile, Cam Davis (-2) is the best placed of the Australians on the leaderboard after he shot a three-under par third round of 67.
Davis jumped 14 places on the leaderboard to a share of 38th, but his position in the FedEx Cup standings has only improved one spot from 69th to 68th.
With the top 50 progressing to next week’s BMW Championship, Davis’ season is all but over.
So too is Min Woo Lee’s.
The 27-year-old started the week on the bubble in 50th place in the standings, but has languished at the bottom of the leaderboard after all three rounds.
Lee is +10 after a second straight round of 72.
Day is set to be the only Australian still in action next week, but he has done his chances of reaching the Tour Championship a disservice.
The former world No.1 is even par overall after a third round 71, and his playoff position has slipped from 37th to 41st with the top 30 after the BMW Championship progressing to the season finale where the winner pockets US$10 million (A$15.3m).
Discussion about this post