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Things were not quite as smooth at East Lake Golf Club on Saturday. Well that is unless your name is Justin Thomas as the 2017 FedEx Cup Champion fired one of the best rounds of the day to get himself back into the mix.
Starting the day a full seven-strokes behind Patrick Cantlay, Thomas was 6-under for his round heading to the closing par-5 18th. With birdie on his mind, Thomas three-putted his final hole, dropping to 5-under and carding a round of 65. Despite the late blunder, the American was still able to make the most of his moving day. Through a deadly combination of precise iron-play and streaky putting, Thomas cut into the lead of Cantlay.
Sitting only five-strokes back with 18-holes to play, Thomas ranks third in Strokes Gained: Putting and third in SG: Approach to this point. Knowing if his driver was cooperative then the rest of his game would be up to the Donald Ross test, Thomas is 11-under this week, one-stroke behind Jon Rahm for the lowest total through 54-holes.
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Despite carding one of the better rounds of the day, Thomas still has a tall mountain to climb as Cantlay and Rahm stood pat atop the leaderboard. Primarily Cantlay, as the FedEx No. 1 maintained his lead throughout the day despite the constant up-and-downs he endured.
Eventually carding a round of 3-under 67, it wasn’t as easy for Cantlay compared to days past. After getting to 4-under through his first 10 holes, it appeared as if he would begin to run away with the tournament. Standing on the 11th tee, Cantlay possessed a four-stroke lead, his largest of the week.
However, at that moment, the bogeys began to rear their ugly heads. Making only one bogey through his first 46 holes, Cantlay carded three over the course of his final eight holes on Saturday, coming home in even-par 35, thanks in part to a lengthy birdie conversion on the 18th.
Struggling tee-to-green in Round 3, Cantlay’s putter finally came around to save the day, much like it did last week at Caves Valley. Posting +2.73 SG: Putting, Cantlay was able to not only hold onto his lead but extend it, despite losing strokes tee-to-green.
As Rahm was never able to take advantage of Cantlay’s rare volatility, once again losing strokes on approach. Ranking 25th in the field in SG: Approach, the Spaniard’s irons have been uncooperative at East Lake, a rarity these days for the world No. 1.
At 18-under and two-strokes behind Cantlay’s 20-under total, those clubs will need to be at their best for Rahm to chase down his playing competitor. With $15 million at stake, Rahm at +140 on PointsBet Sportsbook is my selection to win the FedEx Cup as he has been far and away the best player on the PGA Tour this season. While it is a scary prospect to wager against Cantlay’s even-keel demeanor and trending putter, I believe Rahm’s scoring clubs will finally come to his aid tomorrow and lead him to victory.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
-125: Patrick Cantlay
+140: Jon Rahm
+900: Justin Thomas
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