FedEx St Jude Championship: Cameron Smith and Will Zalatoris lurking behind leader JJ Spaun at TPC Southwind
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Updated 14/08/2022 at 07:17 GMT
It was moving day at the FedEx St Jude Championship and the top spot in the FedEx Cup play-offs going into the second event at the BMW Championship is up for grabs after No. 1 ranked Scottie Scheffler missed the cut. Rory McIlroy came into TPC Southwind as No. 6 but he too missed the cut. Much is up for grabs, with Cameron Smith and Will Zalatoris in the mix behind the leaders.
'It's a wild time for golf' says Zalatoris as he hits out at LIV Golf
The FedEx St Jude Championship is bubbling up nicely, as Cameron Smith and Will Zalatoris moved into contention behind leader JJ Spaun.
Spaun came into the first of the FedEx Cup play-offs having missed four cuts from his last six completed events, but he found form in Memphis and will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday.
Zalatoris has become a top-10 machine in the past couple of years. He is still hunting his breakthrough win on the PGA Tour, but is firmly in contention after charging up the leaderboard on Saturday.
He was out fairly early after starting the day at six-under, but a 65 took him to 11-under going into the final round.
“The big things are staying out of the bunkers,” Zalatoris said. “In three days, I have seen nine plugs in bunkers so avoid them at all costs.
“I have been striking it well the last couple of days, approaches have been awesome. It is one of those days where you bottle up and take it home.”
Open champion Smith has spoken confidently about capping a stellar season with victory in the FedEx Cup.
The Australian cruised round TPC Southwind, and rolled in a stunning birdie putt on 18, to get to 11-under.
The way Smith hunted down Rory McIlroy at St Andrews to win the Open will leave the likes of Spaun, Sepp Straka and Zalatoris extremely worried.
Third Round Leaderboard
- 1. JJ Spaun, 13-under
- 2. Sepp Straka, 12-under
- T3. Will Zalatoris, 11-under
- T3. Cameron Smith, 11-under
- T3. Trey Mullinax, 11-under
- T6. Tyler Duncan, 10-under
- T6. Troy Merritt, 10-under
Tony Finau is bidding for a third PGA Tour win on the spin and he remains in the hunt at nine-under despite producing some indifferent play on Saturday in a round of 69.
Sungjae Im produced the round of the day, with his 63 moving him into contention at nine-under.
US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick has made stealthy progress all week and a 67 took him to nine-under alongside the likes of Sam Burns, Hayden Buckley, Andrew Putnam and Ryan Palmer.
Rickie Fowler arrived in Memphis at 125 and last on the FedEx up points list. Nothing other than a big week would get him through to the second event.
After two rounds he was in contention and mid-way through Saturday he looked in decent shape. He was at seven-under on the 18th tee when things unravelled. His tee shot found the water, as did his third after taking a drop, and he ended up with a nine on the par four to drop to two-under and out of contention.
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