Scheffler holds two-shot lead at FedEx St. Jude Championship as Burns fires 62 to join final pairing

Third round at TPC Southwind

Scottie Scheffler carded a 2-under 68 in Saturday's third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, holding a two-shot lead at 13-under 197 heading into Sunday's final round at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. The world number one began the day with a three-stroke cushion after matching the course record with a 61 on Friday, but struggled early. He needed an 11-foot putt to save par at the third and missed a 12-footer to bogey the fourth. He fell back into a share of the lead twice before reclaiming the outright advantage, mixing four birdies with two bogeys.

Sam Burns, Scheffler's closest friend in golf, fired a bogey-free 62 to join South Korea's Sungjae Im at 11-under 199. Im shot 67 to hold his own in the final group alongside Scheffler. The Sunday pairing will be the first time Scheffler and Burns are paired together in a final group.

It's always a little weird just because I want him to have success so much and I think he wants the same for me. Tomorrow we'll go out there and play our game and see where things finish up at the end of the day. It will be competition like normal. It will be fun being out there with your friend but it's also a bit weird at the same time.

Chasing pack and FedEx Cup implications

Defending FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood of England and American Jake Knapp share fourth at 8-under 202, five shots off the lead. Kim Si-woo, Alex Noren, Brian Harman, and Hideki Matsuyama sit a further stroke back at 7-under. Viktor Hovland is at 6-under.

The tournament carries high stakes beyond the trophy. The top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings after this week advance to the BMW Championship in St. Louis, and those players are guaranteed entry into all $20 million signature events next year. Im, who started the week at No. 53, is the only player projected to move into the top 50. Harman, at No. 65, shot 69 and sits in a tie for sixth, needing to climb a few more spots.

That signature series, it's where you want to be. It's where the best golf is played. I'd love to have a chance.

Jordan Spieth, at No. 54 in the standings, did not make a birdie until the 11th hole in his round of 72, dropping from a tie for fifth to a tie for 19th, a position projected to leave him outside the top 50.

Irish duo falter

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry both carded 2-over-par rounds to slip further back. McIlroy double-bogeyed the 18th for the second time in the tournament, driving into the water off the tee, and enters Sunday at 6-over for the tournament. Justin Rose fared worse at the same hole, finding the water twice on his way to a triple-bogey seven, also sitting at 6-over.

Lowry started brightly with birdies on the third and fifth holes but shot three bogeys and a double against a sole birdie in his final ten holes. The Offaly man sits at 3-over for the tournament, likely spelling the end of his PGA Tour season as he is unlikely to accrue enough points to qualify for the next playoff event.

Scheffler's pursuit of a second win

Scheffler's only victory this year came in his January season opener in the California desert. Since then he has accumulated five runner-up finishes and five other top-10 showings. He is 11-for-17 in converting 54-hole leads in PGA events, including wins in his past seven attempts. His last 54-hole lead came at the 2025 Open Championship.

Strategy is still the same, just go out there and execute. This is a golf course where that's really all it comes down to. I'll just do my best to go out there tomorrow and be committed and try and execute.