Scottie Scheffler moved to the brink of ending his victory drought, carrying a two-stroke lead into the final round of the St Jude Championship in Memphis.
The world number one carded a two-under-par 68 on Saturday at TPC Southwind to reach 13 under for the tournament. Sam Burns, who produced a sparkling bogey-free 62, joined Im Sung-jae of South Korea on 11 under, with the American duo set to feature in the final group on Sunday.
Tommy Fleetwood, the defending FedEx Cup champion, sits a further three shots back at eight under alongside Jake Knapp. That sets up an intriguing finale between close friends Scheffler and Burns, who will be paired together.
“Strategy is still the same, just go out there and execute,” Scheffler said. “This is a golf course where that’s really all it comes down to. It’s always a little weird just because I want him to have success so much and I think he wants the same for me. It will be a competition like normal. It will be fun being out there with your friend but it’s also a bit weird.”
Scheffler, 30, is seeking his first victory since the American Express Open on 27 January. His last lead after 54 holes came at the 2025 Open Championship, where he ultimately did not prevail.
Sweden’s Alex Noren and Norway’s Viktor Hovland remain in strong positions at seven and six under respectively, while Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Harry Hall and Aaron Rai also remain in the mix.
However, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose both endured disasters on the 18th hole to fall well off the pace at six over. McIlroy ran up a double-bogey six after driving into the water, while Rose found the same hazard twice on his way to a triple-bogey seven.
The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings after Sunday’s round will advance to next week’s BMW Championship, with the top 30 from that event moving on to the Tour Championship.
Scheffler will aim to convert his final-round lead into a long-awaited triumph, but with Burns and Im in close pursuit, the last day at TPC Southwind promises plenty of drama.
