We’re 18 holes away from crowning the champion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first of three events of the 2021-22 FedEx Cup Playoffs, and it’s anyone’s to win.
After opening the tournament with a 1-over 71, Will Zalatoris has charged over the last two days to get near the top of the board. He’s made just one bogey in his last 36 holes and will tee off Sunday two back.
Cameron Smith continues to play well, firing a third-round 3-under 67 and is once again in position to win. If he does, it’ll be another high-level victory for the Australian.
If you missed Saturday’s action, here are five takeaways from the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
FedEx St. Jude Championship: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | Leaderboard
Spaun leads, but big dogs lurking
J.J. Spaun remains the leader at 13 under, with a clutch birdie on the 17th to help him take advantage. He won the Valero Texas Open earlier this year and would move to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings with a win.
Sepp Straka, who missed six straight cuts heading into the FedEx St. Jude Championship, is one shot back at 12 under.
However, plenty of big names sit close behind and are ready to pounce.
Smith, the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year, birdied the 18th hole and is at 11 under. Tony Finau sits at 9 under, and he has won his last two starts on Tour. Sam Burns, who has won three times this year, and 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick sit at 9 under. Collin Morikawa and Tom Kim are in a pack at 8 under.
Although Spaun has the lead now, he will have plenty of chasers come Sunday.
“I know I’ve got to play better than I did today tomorrow,” Spaun said. “You look at the names … major champions and multiple winners and you’ve got really hot golfers that are, you know, just playing really good. It’s not going to be easy tomorrow, and I don’t think if I play like how I did today, like I don’t think that will be enough. I’m just going to give it all I’ve got and hopefully make some more birdies than I did today.”
Here's comes Willy Z
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Will Zalatoris has a chance to win on the PGA Tour.
He’s still chasing victory No. 1, but if the Wake Forest product breaks through Sunday he’ll take over the top spot in the FEC standings.
“You know, I love playing this place,” Zalatoris said. “I played well here last year and got some good vibes running around this place.”
Zalatoris played his first 11 holes this week 2 over but has since turned it on. He has just one bogey on the card over his last 45 holes while making 14 birdies.
A Saturday run for @WillZalatoris.
Four birdies on his back nine has him tied for the lead @FedExChamp. pic.twitter.com/eNXY7puuZQ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 13, 2022
A quintuple for Rickie
Rickie Fowler was 3 under on the day, 7 under for the tournament and just a few shots away from getting into the green (the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings).
His tee shot found the water. Then his third. Then a mediocre chip. It all added up to a quintuple-bogey nine on the par-4 last to sign for a day-three 72.
He’ll need a miracle on Sunday to make it to the BMW Championship.
A 9 on 18 for Rickie Fowler.
The quintuple bogey moves him back to No. 123 on the projected standings. pic.twitter.com/r95SGy7221
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 13, 2022
From on the number to in contention
Sungjae Im made the weekend on the number, shooting rounds of 70-68 to get to 2 under through the first two days.
He took advantage of an early morning tee time and fresh greens and fired a 7-under 63 to vault up the leaderboard. Im entered the week 10th in the FEC standings but is now projected 11th.
His highlight of the day may have been this chip shot:
Tasty.
Sungjae Im made this look easy 🤌 pic.twitter.com/rtThl2GEor
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 13, 2022
(Don’t lie to yourself, you’re putting it in that bunker).
A look at the top-70 cut line
With 18 holes left, plenty of golfers are jockeying for position to make it to the BMW Championship next week.
One of those is Ryan Palmer, who birdied Nos. 15-17 to move to 10 under before a bogey at No. 18. He shot 1 under on Saturday and is projected 71st in the standings.
“I have nothing to lose,” Palmer said. “That’s kind of the way I came into this week. I came in knowing I wasn’t going to make anything less if I played bad, but there was an opportunity there. Did a lot of great work early in the week to get ready and it’s nice to give myself a chance and I’m right there.”
Adam Scott, who entered the week at 77th, is in 64th after a clutch par save on 18. Tyler Duncan has also made big moves. At 10 under for the tournament, he’s up 61 spots to 57th.
“There’s nothing really that I’m hoping for, it’s just wake up tomorrow and feel good and come out and go through my routine and see what we have,” Duncan said.
Taylor Moore is currently in 70th, and he’s tied for 44th at 4 under with 18 holes to play.
