Tour Championship: Viktor Hovland leads heading into closing day as Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy maintain FedExCup hopes alive | Golf Information

Viktor Hovland takes a one-shot lead into the ultimate spherical of the Tour Championship, as Scottie Scheffler stayed in rivalry and Rory McIlroy stored his FedExCup hopes alive.

Hovland produced a birdie-birdie end to submit a five-under 65 at East Lake, lifting the 2023 FedExCup champion to fifteen below and with a slender benefit over taking part in accomplice Ryan Gerard.

The midway co-leaders have been chased down by a star-studded chasing pack throughout an exhilarating Saturday on the PGA Tour’s season finale, with world no 1 Scottie Scheffler three photographs again in third spot and chasing a second FedExCup title.

Scheffler is joined on 12 below by Chris Gotterup, Adam Scott and Ludvig Åberg, who produced a three-birdie end to his third-round 65, as McIlroy jumped to tied-seventh after setting the early clubhouse goal with a round-of-the-day 63.

McIlroy sits 5 strokes again alongside Cameron Younger as he searches for a record-extending fourth FedExCup title, with all 29 gamers within the discipline under-par heading into the ultimate spherical.

How Hovland edged forward in FedExCup battle

Gotterup rapidly made it a three-way tie with a birdie on the third, as Hovland – taking part in with Gerard – took benefit of the identical gap however did not stand up and down from the sand to avoid wasting par on the subsequent.

Younger birdied two of his first six holes to additionally get to 10 below, whereas McIlroy charged via the sphere and made 4 birdies in a six-hole stretch in his again 9 to extend the logjam for the lead.

McIlroy had been eight again earlier in his spherical however set the clubhouse goal, moments earlier than Gotterup briefly claimed the solo lead, earlier than Hovland and Gerard each took benefit of the par-five sixth to edge forward on 11 below.

Gerard added one other birdie from 9 toes on the seventh and traded pars with Hovland across the flip, earlier than doubling his benefit over a congested chasing pack by holing from 12 toes on the twelfth.

Hovland transformed from an analogous distance to birdie the subsequent and nailed a 15-footer to match Gerard’s par on the 14th, then picked up a shot on the fifteenth to drag degree together with his taking part in accomplice on 13 below.

Each gamers saved par on the sixteenth and Hovland claimed the outright lead with an eight-foot birdie on the seventeenth, earlier than the pair traded birdies on the par-five final to make sure they’d exit within the final group once more on Sunday.

“Tremendous happy,” Hovland stated. “65 on the market, particularly with that end, I am tremendous proud of that. I might say the previous couple of weeks I’ve been placing so much higher, nevertheless it’s been exhausting to place collectively constantly good days in a row. It has been simply a kind of weeks the place I have been capable of put it collectively each single day for 3 days.

McIlroy fights again to remain in FedExCup combine

The Masters champion was seven off the midway lead and confirmed little signal of a title push when he scrambled a par on the first and made a three-putt bogey on the second, solely to birdie his subsequent two holes and make the most of the par-five sixth.

McIlroy added one other from 10 toes on the par-four seventh however did not make the most of the driveable eighth, then noticed a close-range birdie on the tenth cancelled out by a dropped shot on the subsequent.

The world No 2 picked up a shot from eight toes on the twelfth and holed three birdie possibilities of 12 toes on longer in consecutive holes from the fifteenth, seeing him equal his lowest profession spherical at East Lake.

“I received myself again within the event,” McIlroy stated. “I believe the distinction as we speak was I simply putted so much higher. I believe I misplaced possibly a mixed three (photographs) on the greens over the primary two days and I most likely gained over three on the greens as we speak.

“The ball putting has been there. Hit some good iron photographs, drove it effectively for probably the most half. I felt like I performed okay the final couple days, simply wasn’t getting as a lot out of my sport as I wished to. I pieced it collectively as we speak and clearly with a greater rating.”

Who will win the FedExCup? Watch the ultimate spherical of the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship stay on Sunday from 5pm on Sky Sports activities Golf. Get newest Sky Sports activities offers or stream with no contract on NOW.