Lucas Glover did just enough to keep his place.
The 43-year-old Glover, who won the Wyndham Championship last Sunday just to qualify for the PGA Tour playoffs, shot four-under-par 66 in more hot, steamy weather and will take a one-stroke lead over Taylor Moore to the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn.
The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings are playing in the playoffs opener, with the top 50 after this week advancing to the BMW Championship on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club just outside Chicago, with only the 30 advancing to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the FedEx champion will be determined.
“The hotter the better, and I hear it’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow,” said Glover, who took the lead by shooting 64 in the second round. “As long as I keep hitting good shots, giving myself good looks at the hole and making putts, that’s all I really care about. It’s never as good as it seems and it’s never as bad as it seems.
“Scrappy would be how I would describe that day. Parts of it you could remove the ‘S.’ It was a little bit of smoke and mirrors today, just to be honest. I was able to get a lot out of what I had. My short game bailed me out a lot early, and missed a couple putts I thought I should have made coming in, but I’m still in a good spot.
“I’m going to need more of the same. I’m going to need to make more putts than I did coming down the stretch today. It would be great to make it two wins in a row.”
Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion who has won five times on the PGA Tour and tight titles as a pro, birdied four of the first six holes in round three, but added only one more at No. 13 to record a 54 hole score of 14-under-par 196.
Moore, who was tied for the lead with Glover until making his second bogey on the last hole, made four of his six birdies on the front nine.
“I’m just really stoked,” said Moore, who claimed his first PGA Tour victory and third as a pro earlier this season in the Valspar Championship. “I’m driving the ball well, putting the ball in the fairway and giving myself chances, some good looks coming in on these greens, and I feel like that has been the recipe.
“With a win under my belt, I’m just more mature and more comfortable in that situation. Get yourself in position on the back nine on Sunday, that’s all I can ask for. I’m looking forward to the challenge. I was a couple shots back on Sunday at Valspar and won there, and I think anytime you’re within a couple shots going into the back nine on Sunday, you’ve got a legit shot.
“I’m definitely in a good position, and I’m just going to go try to do it again.”
Tommy Fleetwood of England had seven birdies in a third straight 66 and is two shots behind in solo third, while seventh-ranked Max Homa of Valencia and Cal shot a bogey-free 65 and is one more down in a tie for fourth with Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup winner, who made only one bogey in his 68.
Second-ranked Rory McIlroy made three late birdies in a 68 and is five down in a big tie for sixth with fourth-ranked Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and Cal, who made four birdies on the first six holes en roue to a 66; fifth-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway, who sank an 18-foot eagle putt at No. 5 and added six birdies in a 65; 21-year-old Tom Kim of South Korea, who had two birdies and one bogey in a 69; Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who birdied two of the last three holes for another 69, and Sungjae Im of South Korea, who had a late birdie in yet another 69.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler made only one birdie in a 71 and is in a tie for 23rd that includes sixth-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, the 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist, who birdied three of the first five holes in a 70, and Justin Rose, who set the course record with a bogey-free 61.
Ninth-ranked Brian Harman, the 151st Open champion, made a lone bogey in a 67 and is tied for 38th, while third-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain made four birdies on the last five holes in a second straight 67 and is tied for 42nd, and 10th-ranked Matt Fitzpatrick had only two birdies in a 71 and is tied for 63rd.
For complete results, final-round pairings and the FedEx Cup standings, visit: https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard
