Scottie Scheffler and Matthew Fitzpatrick share third-round lead at BMW Championship

CHICAGO – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and 2022 US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick each reeled off three consecutive back-nine birdies to share the lead after Saturday’s third round of the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship.

American star Scheffler made seven birdies against a lone bogey to shoot a six-under 64, while England’s Fitzpatrick had five birdies before a controversial closing bogey left him on 66 at Olympia Fields in suburban Chicago.

That left them on 11-under 199 after 54 holes in the penultimate FedEx Cup play-off event, where the top 30 in season points advance to this week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.

“I played what felt like a great round. The winds were shifting around a bunch out there... but I did a good job of when I got into trouble, got out, and my short game was really nice,” Scheffler, the 2023 Players Championship winner, said.

Scheffler would move to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings with a win; no top-ranked player has entered the Tour Championship with the lead in the FedExCup for two consecutive years. However, he is not looking past the next 18 holes.

“I don’t really pay attention to what’s going on with the leaderboards, especially when it comes to projections. It was Saturday out here, so I’m not really too concerned about next week. I was just trying to have a good round of golf and just try and move my way up the leaderboard,” he said.

American Brian Harman, July’s British Open winner, was third on 200 after a 67 with countryman Max Homa, who set the course record on Friday with a PGA career-low 62, fourth on 201 after a 71.

FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy, a four-time Major winner from Northern Ireland, fired 67 to share fifth on 202 with Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who shot 65.

Fitzpatrick, leading by a stroke, saved par from a greenside bunker at No. 17 but, at the 18th, found a fairway bunker and the left rough, where he said a course marshal “semi-stood” on the ball.

“Didn’t fully stand on it, but definitely brushed it because you could see the grass was completely moved. It was definitely sat further down than when I got there. They didn’t see it, and they can’t confirm that, so I wasn’t going to fight for it, really,” he said.

Instead, he punched into the fairway and went up and down for bogey to fall back level with Scheffler, saying his third shot was impacted.

“Not a different angle, but it just came out heavy. If it sat up a little bit lighter, it comes out a little bit better on the green – it’s a little less stressful bogey than what I had,” said Fitzpatrick, who was 40th in the FedExCup standings coming into the weekend.

It was a tricky day for the leaders.

Homa birdied the second and fifth holes to stretch his lead but was undone by a triple bogey at the seventh – needing four to reach the green and three-putting from 13 feet.

When Harman made bogey at the ninth despite finding a fairway bunker, he fell into a three-way shared lead with Homa and Fitzpatrick.

Harman birdied the 10th to grab the lead, but 2022 Masters winner Scheffler began the back nine with three birdies, the last and longest from 13 feet, to match him on 10 under.

That was when Fitzpatrick charged, sinking a 14-foot birdie putt at the par-three 13th, a 21-footer at No. 14 and a four-footer at the par-five 15th following a great rescue shot from the left trees, to retake the lead after Scheffler birdied the 15th.

McIlroy, who can overtake Scheffler for No. 1 with a victory, made four birdies in the first six holes but stumbled with bogeys at Nos. 9 and 10 and ended four adrift.

“Got off to a great start, holed some nice putts early, sort of stalled in the middle of the round. I could have been a couple closer to the lead but overall happy with how I played,” the Ulsterman said. AFP, REUTERS