Viktor Hovland entered the final day of the Tour Championship with a one‑stroke advantage, while Scottie Scheffler remained in the mix and Rory McIlroy kept his FedExCup aspirations alive. Hovland’s closing birdie‑birdie run produced a five‑under 65 at East Lake, lifting the 2023 FedExCup champion to 15 under par and giving him a slim edge over his playing partner, Ryan Gerard.
The early leaders after the halfway point were soon chased down by a star‑packed pack on a dramatic Saturday at the PGA Tour’s season‑ending event. World number 1 Scottie Scheffler, three shots behind, sat in third place and was hunting a second FedExCup title. He shared the 12‑under‑par mark with Chris Gotterup, Adam Scott and Ludvig Åberg, the Swede having finished his third round with a three‑birdie finish on a 65.
Meanwhile, McIlroy vaulted into a tie for seventh after posting the day’s best round of 63, establishing an early clubhouse target. McIlroy now sits five strokes behind the leader alongside Cameron Young as he chases a record‑extending fourth FedExCup crown. All 29 competitors are under par heading into Sunday’s final round, underscoring the depth of the field.
Gotterup quickly forced a three‑way tie with a birdie on the third hole, while Hovland, paired with Gerard, capitalized on the same hole but missed a sand save on the next, settling for par. Young birdied two of his first six holes to climb to 10 under, and McIlroy surged through the pack, stringing four birdies over a six‑hole stretch on his back nine, adding further pressure to the leaders.
Earlier in his round McIlroy had been eight strokes off the lead, but his steady play set the clubhouse benchmark just before Gotterup briefly claimed sole possession of the lead. Hovland and Gerard then took advantage of the par‑five sixth to move ahead at 11 under. Gerard added a nine‑foot birdie on the seventh and traded pars with Hovland around the turn. He then doubled his advantage over the crowded chase group by holing a 12‑foot putt on the 12th.
Hovland responded with a similar‑length birdie on the next hole and nailed a 15‑footer to match Gerard’s par on the 14th, before picking up a shot on the 15th to bring them level at 13 under. Both players saved par on the 16th, but Hovland seized the outright lead with an eight‑foot birdie on the 17th. The pair then exchanged birdies on the final par‑five, guaranteeing they would return as the last group on Sunday. "Super pleased," Hovland said after his round.
"A 65 out there, especially with that finish, makes me really happy. I’d say my putting has been a lot better these past few weeks, but it’s been tough to string together consistently good days.
This week I finally managed to put it all together for three straight days." The Masters champion, who was seven strokes off the halfway lead, showed little sign of a serious title charge early on, scrambling for par on the first hole and making a three‑putt bogey on the second. He then birdied the next two holes and took advantage of the par‑five sixth to climb back into contention. McIlroy added another birdie from 10 feet on the par‑four seventh but missed the opportunity on the driveable eighth.
He followed that with a close‑range birdie on the 10th, which was quickly negated by a dropped shot on the 11th. The world number 2 recovered with an eight‑foot birdie on the 12th and then holed three birdie chances—from 12 feet, 12 feet and a longer putt—on the 15th, 16th and 17th, respectively, tying his lowest career round at East Lake.
"I got myself back in the tournament," McIlroy reflected. "The difference today was my putting. I think I lost maybe three shots combined on the greens over the first two days and I probably gained three on the greens today.
The ball striking has been there – I hit some nice irons and drove well for the most part. I felt I played okay the last couple of days, just wasn’t extracting as much as I wanted. I pieced it together today and, of course, posted a better score." The FedExCup title remains up for grabs as the final round approaches on Sunday. Fans can watch the climax of the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship live from 5 p.m.
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