ATLANTA — By the time Patrick Cantlay wrapped up his fourth birdie in his last five holes for a 6-under-par 64 to take the lead and Tommy Fleetwood dried himself off from a double bogey with a pair of birdies for a 67 to catch him, the Tour Championship was left with tantalizing possibilities.
At stake in the final round Sunday at East Lake Golf Club will be the FedEx Cup for the PGA Tour’s 2025 season.
And on top of that, the Ryder Cup — or at least for those who have yet to earn a spot in next month’s matches between Europe and the United States at Bethpage Black on New York’s Long Island.
There was Fleetwood, the 34-year-old Englishman embracing yet another chance to get his first PGA Tour victory. There was Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked Texan who seemingly wins all the time these days.
And right in the thick of it was Keegan Bradley, one of five Americans among the top nine players at East Lake under consideration for a captain’s pick in the Ryder Cup. It just so happens that Bradley is the captain, whether or not he plays.
As if he hasn’t been weighing this possibility enough already, Bradley had to register for the tournament next to a room celebrating the 1963 Ryder Cup matches at this site. There was the bag of the late Arnold Palmer, the most recent American to be a playing captain.
“It was really weird looking at it,” Bradley said Saturday after a 63, which he called his best round of the year, that had him alone in fourth and three shots out of the lead. “Like really strange. Because I’m nowhere in the world of Arnold Palmer, and somehow I’m in this with him right now.”
Saturday was plenty entertaining, even on a dreary day when rain was never far away.
Fleetwood seized control with four straight birdies early, only to lose the lead when a 6-iron shot in the water on the 220-yard 15th hole. The back tee and peninsula green added up to 10 shots in the water from the field Saturday, which was eight more than the opening two rounds combined.
As he crouched to read his bogey putt, a videoboard in front of him showed him he was about to lose his lead — unaware Cantlay was about to bury a bending 25-foot birdie on the 17th green.
“It was just one bad swing on a very tough hole, and that’s what can happen,” Fleetwood said.
He responded by hitting a pitching wedge from a bunker to 12 feet for a birdie and a wedge to nine feet for another birdie on the next, allowing him to catch Cantlay at 16-under 194 through 54 holes.
They were two shots ahead of Georgia native Russell Henley, who birdied the 18th for a 69 and was alone in third after holding the lead after the first round and sharing it with Fleetwood entering the day.
Fleetwood endured a two-shot swing on the final hole to Bradley that cost him at the Travelers Championship in June. He lost a two-shot lead with three to play at the FedEx St. Jude Championship two weeks ago. This is his third time with at least a share of the 54-hole lead in his past six events.
All he wanted was another chance, and this is another great one.
“That’s what everybody wants,” Fleetwood said. “I am lucky enough that I get to be one of those guys, so I’m having the time of my life out there, and I’m playing great, and I’ve got to enjoy it while it’s happening. You never know.
“Tomorrow might be my time, it might not, but I’ll still have a great time doing it.”
Cantlay looked to be all business, dressed in black and wielding the control off the tee and a reliable putter that has made him such a consistent threat over the years. The 33-year-old California native began working with putting guru Phil Kenyon a few weeks ago, mainly on setup, trying to get an edge as he seeks his ninth PGA Tour victory but first since repeating as the BMW Championship winner three years ago.
It appears to be working. His low round of the year coming into East Lake had been 65. He has shot 64 twice in three days.
“It’s nice to close the way I did, especially the last two days,” Cantlay said. “I’m pleased with where I’m at.”
Cantlay might have already assured his spot at Bethpage Black. Even at 15th in the Ryder Cup standings, he was seen as a logical choice given how he performed under pressure in the loss to Europe two years ago in Italy and in a win against the International squad at the Presidents Cup last year in Canada.
Now he has a chance to win the FedEx Cup for the second time, four years after was a one-stroke winner in the Tour Championship.
“It’s always nice to have your game shape up at the end of the year, but like I said, I’m focused 100% on this week, and we’ll worry about the Ryder Cup a little later,” he said.
Scheffler was so frustrated with putts he felt he slightly misread that he tossed his club at his bag after missing an eight-foot birdie try on the 16th. He had already missed two other birdie chances from slightly closer. He still shot a 66, his 20th consecutive round under par.
He was alone in fifth place and four back, same as he was last weekend when he won the BMW Championship.
“Felt like another frustrating day,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I did some things well out there. I was just a little bit off on my reads most of the day. I hit some good putts that just didn’t fall. Overall, I didn’t shoot myself out of the tournament, which making bogeys around this place can very easily do that.
“Proud of the turnaround. But man, I wish I could have gotten a little bit more out of the round.”
Cameron Young, had a 71 and was in sixth as he makes his Ryder Cup case. One shot behind were fellow American players Sam Burns and Ben Griffin, also under Ryder Cup consideration, after each shot a 68.
Baylor School graduate Harris English, already on the U.S. roster for the second time thanks to his strong year, shot a 69 and was 7 under for 15th in the 30-player field.
Sunday is for the tournament riches that include $10 million prize for the winner from a $40 million purse, a chance for Scheffler to become the first repeat FedEx Cup champion, for Fleetwood to finally get that first PGA Tour win, for Bradley to make it virtually impossible not to pick himself.
“I’m either going to win or I’m not, and we’re going to know the picks,” Bradley said. “We’re pretty confident with the picks that we have. One more day of golf to kind of finalize this whole thing, and I can’t wait. I’m done with this whole process. I want it over with either way.”