Tiger Woods tees off on the 10th hole Saturday during the third round of the BMW Championship.NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Justin Rose could sense the sky getting a little darker, the wind a little cooler and more brisk. Every shot means so much this time of the year, and the last two holes Saturday at the BMW Championship might mean even more.
Rose saved par from an awkward stance with his golf ball in the thick grass on the slope of a bunker. Xander Schauffele left a long putt from the tightly mown collar on the 18th green eight feet short, and his par putt from there caught the high side of the cup and spun away.
When the third round ended, Rose had a 6-under 64 – six birdies on the front, all pars on the back – for a one-shot lead over Schauffele and Rory McIlroy going into the final round at Aronimink Golf Club, a course so soft from rain that the average score from 69 players over three rounds was 67.5
At stake is chance for Rose to reach No. 1 in the World Golf Ranking for the first time with his third title in the Philadelphia area, including his U.S. Open win at Merion Golf Club five years ago.
Jordan Spieth was projected to fall just outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings, which would mean missing the Tour Championship in two weeks at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club and getting some form of penalty from the PGA Tour because of his schedule. He would have one more day to change that.