Tommy Fleetwood clings to one-stroke PGA St. Jude lead over Justin Rose
Tommy Fleetwood of England hits a tee shot on the 18th hole during the third round of the St. Jude Championship.
WASHINGTON – Tommy Fleetwood, chasing his first PGA Tour title, clung to a one-stroke lead over fellow Englishman Justin Rose after Saturday's third round of the St. Jude Championship.
He closed with a bogey to fire a one-under 69 and stand on 14-under 196 after 54 holes at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, in the first FedExCup playoff event.
'I've been really good off the tee, which is a strong quality around this golf course,' Fleetwood said. 'At times you would get into a nice flow and feel comfortable with your routine.'
Rose, the 2013 US Open champion and 2016 Olympic winner, closed with a birdie for 67 and finish on 197.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler fired a 65 to stand third on 198 with fellow Americans J.J. Spaun, the US Open champion, and Andrew Novak sharing fourth on 199.
Fleetwood, a seven-time winner on the DP World Tour making his 162nd PGA Tour start, has six runner-up finishes on the US tour, including a playoff loss to US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley in June's Travelers Championship.
'I would way rather be there and fail than not be there at all, so either way, it's a good thing,' he added of his lacking a PGA title. 'Yeah, it hurts when it doesn't happen for you and that sort of streak and people talk about it more and more. Obviously it's not my favorite time.
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'It has taken me a long time to win out here and I still haven't done it. The more I put myself there, the more chance there is of it happening and just go out and keep learning from every experience.
'Tomorrow might be my day. It might not. But being there is the most important thing and I'll continue to try and do that.'
The Briton has had five top-five finishes this season, including his runner-up showing at the Travelers Championship.
Rose was runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the Masters and had two top-20 finishes – sixth at the Scottish Open and 16th at The Open – last month.
'Coming off a couple weeks off, I couldn't have asked to be in a better spot,' Rose said.
Scheffler, trying to become the first player to defend the playoff crown, is the Cup points leader and has won four of five prior events this year when in the top five after 54 holes.
Spaun made one of the biggest moves in the third round.
He matched Scheffler's 65 to advance from a tie for 11th to a tie for fourth at 11-under 199. Novak is also at 199 after making back-to-back pars to end his round.
'I struck my irons a lot better than I had all week,' Spaun said. 'I started to get it more in the fairway, too, (Friday), so it was kind of a good combination of everything starting to click.'
The top 70 on the season points list qualified for this week's tournament with the top 50 advancing to next week's BMW Championship. The top 30 after the BMW advance to the Tour Championship. AFP, REUTERS
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