ATLANTA – And then there were three. The TOUR Championship had turned into a runaway for Patrick Cantlay when he made four birdies in a stretch of five holes for a four-shot lead over Jon Rahm and an eight-shot lead over 2017 FedExCup champ Justin Thomas halfway through round three at East Lake. But “Patty Ice” – the moniker he earned with clutch putting in winning the BMW Championship – cracked a little with bogeys at the 11th, 14th and 16th holes. After an uneven 67, he leads by two over Rahm (68) and a five over Thomas (65) going into Sunday’s final round. The lead would have been one and four, respectively, but Cantlay sank a 23-foot birdie on 18. “I enjoy pressure golf because it’s everything I’ve practiced to do,” he said. Cantlay had not historically played East Lake well, with his best in three starts a T20. He hadn’t even made it to the 30-man TOUR Championship since 2019. But on Sunday, when he will play with Rahm for the 21st time in his career, he will be playing for the $15 million first prize, plus, very likely, Player of the Year honors as the only player with four wins this season. Rahm, meanwhile, could make the argument for Player of the Year if he gets it done on Sunday. It would give the world No. 1 two big wins this season – U.S. Open, TOUR Championship – and the FedExCup. He also is on track to win the scoring title and lead the TOUR with 15 top-10s. It’s been a peculiar season for Thomas, a former world No. 1 who has dropped to sixth. Since his epic comeback victory at THE PLAYERS Championship in March he has notched just one top-10 finish, a T4 at THE NORTHERN TRUST to open the FedExCup Playoffs last month. Also, Thomas has hit just 12 of 28 fairways the last two days. “I gained some shots on the leaders today, and that’s what’s most important,” he said. Said Rahm, who was in negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green for the third round, “Not my best. Great off the tee, I must say … Just wasn’t as sharp as I wanted to be with my irons. It was one of those days where there was a lot of in-between numbers.” Kevin Na (66, 13 under) has an outside chance at seven back. Abraham Ancer (bogey-free 65) and 2014 FedExCup winner Billy Horschel (67) are 10 back. Cantlay began the week with a four-shot lead over Rahm and a six-shot lead over Thomas. The No. 1 seed and 54-hole leader’s closing birdie on 18 seemed potentially bigger than just one shot, given that Thomas three-putted the hole for his only bogey and Rahm could only manage a par. “I thought it was big for momentum,” Cantlay said. “It was a nice putt to make, especially being out of position on that hole. And I’ll take that momentum into tomorrow.” Four of Rahm’s five TOUR wins have come when he’s trailed through 54 holes. For Thomas, it’s six out of 14. He was hoping to be just four back – he was three behind leader Lee Westwood through three rounds at THE PLAYERS – but now the number is five. Rahm said he was proud of himself for finding a way to hang in there without his best stuff, giving himself a chance Sunday. Meanwhile, “Patty Ice” Cantlay just keeps pressing ever closer to FedExCup history. “Getting in that moment is exactly why I’ve practiced for all those hours growing up and all those hours my whole life,” he said. “And so getting to do it when it’s important, I mean, that’s exactly why I play golf. I love it.”
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