Emergency 9: BMW Championship, Round 3

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the BMW Championship gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Aronimink Golf Club just outside Philadelphia plays 7,267 yards to Par-70. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected, plus TWO, golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. I included all players who were owned by 20 percent or more. The early-morning tee times ended up being washed out and being pushed back to almost the original starting times. The course was wet and used lift, clean and replace in closely-mown areas. To put scoring in perspective, Keegan Bradley played in the final three-some, shot 66 and DROPPED three places to T6. Tee times have been moved up again for early Sunday morning but the forecast is dire regardless. Coming up Roses The Monday forecast isn’t much better for the Philadelphia metro area so if they can’t complete the tournament, 54-hole leader Justin Rose could probably connect the dots. He backed up his 63 in Round 2 with 64 in Round 3 and will be paired with Ryder Cup pal Rory McIlroy in the final round. The new favorite son of Pennsylvania bogeyed his first hole this week and has played the next 53 in 18-under. Other Half Not many guys can post 63 with a double bogey but Rory McIlroy had the perfect response after his five on the Par-3 No. 8. The second shot from the fairway on the Par-5 No. 9 landed eight feet from the flag and his subsequent putt wiped out the double. Momentum was recovered as he went out in 31 and came in with a bogey-free 32 to move into the final pairing. The Ulsterman leads the field in Strokes-Gained: Off-the-Tee. Friday’s Overnight Leader Xander Schauffele has only made three bogeys over 54 holes with one in each loop. The square on his final hole Saturday knocked him out of a spot in the final group and saddled him with one-shot deficit entering the final round. The putt that lipped out secured a spot with “Mr. 62” in the final round that Schauffele could use (heads-up) to impress Captain Furyk. People’s Choice — Bryson DeChambeau The free roll this week essentially ended with 70 in Round 2 but the man leading the FedExCup Playoff standings heading into East Lake didn’t mail it in during Round 3. With seven birdies against just one bogey, he moved up to T26 and another low one could reward his investors who were riding the streak this week. It’s not like he’s spraying it as he’s fourth in Strokes-Gained: Off-the-Tee and remains first in proximity. #Stud. 124 Wow. Wow x 2. Moving Day Although they didn’t match Fleetwood’s magnificent 62, Austin Cook and Adam Hadwin each shooting 63 will give them hope for another low round Sunday. They’ll need to pull a “Fleetwood” and go lower if they are going to make it to East Lake as both sit well outside the top 30. I’m not sure there are enough holes to make up the difference. … Quietly sneaking up the leaderboard is Francesco Molinari after 63-64. He’s now T7. … It’s also too-little-too-late for Dustin Johnson as his 64 moved him up 15 spots but he’s only T33. Moving Day: Wrong Way For the second Saturday running Keegan Bradley went backwards (T6) but he’s hardly out of it this week. He’s gone close every week of the FedExCup Playoffs and will begin the final round No. 30 as it stands. Time for another low round! … Alex Noren signed for even-par 70 and dropped from T3 to T21. … Jason Day carded 68 and plummeted from T7 to T15. Study Hall Rain and damp conditions paired with ball-in-hand for these guys will mean ridiculous scores and they didn’t disappoint in Round 3. The scoring average was 67.159, almost three-shot under-par. Of the 69 players who teed it up, they made a combined 92 bogeys! … Charles Howell III has made one bogey this week and is T26. … There were 16 bogey-free rounds bringing this week’s total to 33. … McIlroy and Bradley lead the field with 20 birdies each.

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