Henrik Stenson of Sweden can make history repeat itself.
Stenson, who captured the Deutsche Bank Championship two years ago on his way to winning the FedEx Cup, carded a 6-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler of Murrieta into the final round at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.
“It’s always great to come back to a course where you have played well,” said Stenson, who took sole possession of the lead with a tap-in birdie on the final hole. “I have good vibes here and I played well. I’ll try to keep it going (tomorrow).
“I had a great front nine (shooting 31with three birdies and an eagle on the fourth hole). I played well on the back, too, but just couldn’t seem to convert anything until the last hole. I was just barely missing.”
Stenson entered the week fourth in the FedEx Cup standings.
Fowler recorded his third consecutive 67, collecting four birdies on the front nine before finishing with 10 straight pars.
However, he got into the final pairing with Stenson with a six-foot par putt on No. 18.
“I definitely didn’t want to finish with a bogey, so it was nice to roll that one in,” said Fowler, who could move into the top-five in the FedEx Cup standings with a high finish. “It was great to get into the final group and it should be fun with Henrik tomorrow.
“I was a little up-and-down today and I have to tighten things up off the tee. I’ll go get that straightened out on the range, but I’m definitely happy with my position.”
Sean O’Hair birdied the last two holes to post a 67 and was two shots back in a tie for third with Matt Jones of Australia, who had a 68, while Russell Knox of Scotland was another shot behind in solo fifth after a 68.
Kevin Chappell of Fresno and UCLA struggled to a 71 and was five strokes back in a tie for sixth with Daniel Berger (68), Hideki Matsuyama (69) of Japan, Danny Lee (69) of New Zealand and Jerry Kelly (68).
Charley Hoffman of Poway, who took the lead with a second-round 63, struggled to a 76 after tweaking his back and slipped to six shots down in a tie for 11th that included Matt Kuchar (65), Jim Furyk (70), and Hunter Mahan (64).
Jason Day of Australia, the FedEx Cup points leader who has won three of this last four tournaments, ended a streak of 22 consecutive rounds of par of better and was tied for 25th after a 73, top-ranked Rory McIlroy was in a tie for 64th after a 71, and Phil Mickelson shot 70 and was in a tie for 53rd that included Bubba Watson, who had a 71.
