Tommy Fleetwood, chasing an elusive first PGA Tour title and a $10 million top prize, bounced back from a late double bogey to remain tied for the lead at the Tour Championship on Saturday alongside Patrick Cantlay.
England's Fleetwood, a seven-time DP World Tour winner who has yet to lift a US trophy, carded a three-under par 67, erasing a double-bogey at 15 with birdies at 16 and 17 to build a 16-under total of 194.
Cantlay, the 2021 Tour Championship winner who claimed the most recent of his eight US tour titles in 2022, roared up the leaderboard to join him with a six-under 64 – grabbing four of his six birdies in the last five holes.
They were two shots clear of Russell Henley, who started the day tied for the lead and carded a one-under 69 for 196 at rainy East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia.
US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley posted the best round of the day, firing an eagle and six birdies in a seven-under 63 that left him alone in fourth on 197 – one stroke clear of world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Fleetwood, who suffered his latest PGA Tour near miss at the St. Jude Championship this month and was tied for fourth at the BMW Championship last week, got off to a sluggish start.
But after a bogey at the fourth he rolled in a 14-foot birdie at the fifth to launch a run of four straight birdies that included a 44-footer at the seventh.
The streak came to an end with a bogey at the par-three ninth, where Fleetwood missed the green and was unable to get up and down.
He remained in control after a birdie at 13, but his tee shot at the par-three 15th found the water and he dropped two strokes to fall one behind Cantlay.
Fleetwood responded with a 12-foot birdie at 16 and a nine-foot birdie at 17, but he couldn't take advantage of the par-five 18th, settling for par after landing in a greenside bunker.
"It was never really a round that flowed for me, but it was difficult," Fleetwood said. "It was damp conditions. (It) wasn't cold by any means, but obviously different air and windier, and I just found it a bit more difficult today.
"But the one thing I was really happy with was my putter," he added. "I felt like when I was on the green, talk about flow, things were going really well. Felt like I was reading them great and in a really good rhythm, so that was good."
Fleetwood put the miscue at 15 down to "one bad swing" and he was pleased with how he responded.
"I still had three holes to play and still 21 holes of the tournament, and I still felt in a very good frame of mind," he said.
FRUSTRATED SCHEFFLER
Cantlay was three adrift to start the day and got things going with a birdie at the par-three second.
He birdied the third, then parred his way to 14, where he drained a 15-foot birdie putt. After a six-foot birdie putt at the 16th he rolled in a 23-foot birdie at 17 that gave him the solo lead and his birdie at the last ensured he maintained a share of the top spot.
Henley had an up and down day with four birdies and three bogeys. But he kept his nose in front of Bradley – whose latest sparkling effort will stoke speculation he could name himself a playing captain for the Ryder Cup match play showdown with Europe next month.
"This might be my best round of the year," Bradley said.
Scheffler, whose five victories this year include major titles at the PGA Championship and British Open, couldn't say the same.
"Felt like another frustrating day," he said after fighting his way back from a bogey-bogey start. "Proud of the turnaround but, man, I wish I could have gotten a little bit more out of the round."