With an opportunity to run away from the rest of the field in front of them during Round 3 at the 2022 Tour Championship, neither Scottie Scheffler nor Xander Schauffele could cash in. They lost some ground to a field that's suddenly closing in on the top of the leaderboard, and while that could be bad news for how much money they eventually make Sunday afternoon, it's great news for fans looking for a close finish between the best players in the world.
Round 3 ended early Saturday following two inclement weather delays, which means Scheffler (who still leads) and Schauffele will play their final six holes starting at 9:45 a.m. ET on Sunday. They'll do so while trying to close out a round in which they are currently just 1 under even though the field average was at 67 at close of play Saturday. The worst score of the day to that point was 1 over.
Fourteen golfers will have to finish Sunday morning, which makes for a long Tour Championship finale. Players will be compensated handsomely for their overtime, though, with $58 million on the table and $18 million of it going to the winner after all four rounds. With the top of the board compacting, the fight for first prize and a truly life-changing amount of money (for most of the players in the field) should be immense.
Here's a look at where things stand with a handful of holes still left to play in Round 3 and what could unfold in Round 4.
1. Scottie Scheffler (-19 thru 12): There's still time for Scheffler to get back under par for the third round when he finishes up Sunday morning, but as it stands right now, only Cameron Young (thru 16 holes) and Corey Conners (finished) are worse than Scheffler's even-par score. He's losing two strokes to the field right now, and a putter that went cold in Round 3 continues to ail him. He may still win this thing and cap his four-win year with yet another one, but it's certainly gotten a lot closer than many (including even Scheffler) probably imagined it would.
2. Xander Schauffele (-18 thru 12): Schauffele is the obvious choice here because he has the most holes remaining, which means he also has the most room for error. Also, nobody who has played this golf course more than 20 times has ever it better than Schauffele. He's laboring through a third round that looked like it was going to be another gem, but he's still making a ton of birdies. The last -- and perhaps most obvious -- reason Schauffele is the most likely to catch Scheffler is because he's the closest to him and in fact might actually lead by the time the final round starts on Sunday.
3. Sungjae Im (-16 thru 14)
4. Rory McIlroy (-15 thru 16): McIlroy also dominates East Lake and deserves a look here considering the position he's in without even hitting driver all that well so far this week (he was hurt big time by an opening triple on Thursday). If that clicks on Sunday, he could shoot 63.
T5. Jon Rahm (-14 thru 13)
T5. Patrick Cantlay (-14 thru 13)
T5. Justin Thomas (-14 thru 17): J.T. mentioned after Saturday ended how the top players have given him some much-needed help so far, and if they continue to do so, he'll have a chance to win on Sunday. If not, it's going to be extremely difficult for anyone outside the top two or three to claim the $18 million first prize.
This gives even better context to how much closer the tournament is with a day remaining than it was on Friday afternoon. Honorable mention: Schauffele played the fourth hole on Friday through the third hole on Saturday (18 holes total) in 60 strokes.
A handful of golfers are in position to nearly match or even surpass their career earnings with a lights-out finish on Sunday. Here's a look at a few golfers who are probably not going to win it all but could earn the $6.5 million second prize or $5 million third prize and come close to making as much in one tournament as they have made over the course of their entire PGA Tour careers.
Sepp Straka (T5): $7.9 million
Tom Hoge (T10): $11.4 million
J.T. Poston (15): $10.3 million
Ultimately, either Scheffler or Schauffele will likely win this tournament, and I've thought so since Thursday. However, if you're simply wanting a good number, consider Thomas at 35-1 as he's about to make birdie on the 18th hole when he finishes his third round on Sunday morning. Cantlay at 35-1 is also interesting given that he's leading the field this week in strokes gained from tee to green and still has five holes left to play in his third round. He's just five back of the lead, and if he has one of those days when he's making everything he looks at, he could definitely run down Scheffler and Schauffele over the course of his last 23 holes.
Lightning got too close -- 3 miles away, according to the weather analyst on NBC right now -- and the Tour Championship is in its second inclement weather delay. Sounds like they'll work to get players back on the golf course today to finish Round 3.
Round 3 will resume on Sunday at 9:45 a.m. The final round will start at 11:16 a.m.
One thing to keep an eye on as this round comes to a close is how many players can get within two or three of the lead (if any). Scottie Scheffler is even on the day, and Xander Schauffele is 1 under, which means that they're potentially letting a handful of players behind them back in it for what should be a pretty fascinating Sunday finale with $58 million on the table. Rory, Rahm and JT need to close hard.
How difficult is Xander Schauffele going to be to oust at East Lake? Consider his ranking among those who have played 20 or more rounds on this golf course (does not include numbers this week).
There's a good amount of separation on the leaderboard right now. Unfortunately for Scottie Scheffler, it's not at the top like it was the first two days. Scheffler remains at the top at -19, but then you have Xander at -18, Sungjae at -17, Rahm at -15 and then Rory, JT, Cantlay and Niemann at -14. Guys like JT and Rory are playing well enough that if Scheffler stumbles over the next 13 holes, there are going to be a lot of players in striking distance on Sunday.
