Scottie Scheffler shot a two-under 68 Saturday at TPC Southwind in Memphis to reach 13 under par, taking a two-stroke lead into the final round of the St. Jude Championship. It is the first time the world number one has led after 54 holes since the 2025 Open Championship. He has not won a tournament since January.
According to BBC Sport, Scheffler will play in the final pairing Sunday with Sam Burns, who carded a bogey-free 62 to climb to 11 under. Im Sung-jae of South Korea is also at 11 under. England's Tommy Fleetwood, the defending FedEx Cup champion, sits at eight under alongside American Jake Knapp, three shots behind Scheffler.
The final pairing adds a layer of unusual tension to Sunday's round. Scheffler and Burns are close friends away from the course.
"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."
Viktor Hovland of Norway sits at six under, with Sweden's Alex Noren one shot back at seven under. Both are positioned for strong finishes. England's Brian Harman is at seven under as well.
Not everyone had a good day on the back nine. Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, two of the most decorated players in the field, both collapsed on the 18th hole. McIlroy drove into the water off the tee and made double-bogey six. Rose found the same hazard twice and walked off with a triple-bogey seven. Both sit at six over par for the tournament, deep in the field with little chance of advancing.
The FedEx Cup playoff format adds stakes beyond the trophy. The top 50 players in the FedEx standings after this weekend will advance to next week's BMW Championship. Only the top 30 from that event will move on to the Tour Championship. Players further down the points list face a genuine cutoff with their seasons on the line.
Scheffler enters Sunday having controlled much of the tournament. A win would end a seven-month drought and strengthen his position atop the FedEx standings heading into the final two playoff events.
