Play resumes at Players after four-hour delay

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Scottie Scheffler and Andrew Landry have separated themselves from the field at The American Express, but the Stadium Course at PGA West was designed to encourage big swings in scoring. At 21 under par, Scheffler and Landry are four shots ahead of Rickie Fowler, who sits alone in third place. Only two more players – Ryan Moore and Chase Seiffert – sit within five strokes. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Fowler showcases new swing in final group  The co-leaders can’t take their eye off those pursuers, though. The Stadium Course was the 10th-easiest course on TOUR last season but also allowed a double-bogey or worse on 2.2% of the holes played. That was the 15th-highest rate on TOUR last season. “If you’re not on your game, you can really struggle,â€� Scheffler said. This is a course, after all, that TOUR players revolted against when it was first played in 1987. The late Pete Dye was ordered to make this Stadium Course, the Western version of his masterpiece at TPC Sawgrass, “the hardest damn golf course in the world.â€� It may no longer hold that title, but water still comes into play on several holes, including the island-green 17th and penal, par-4 18th. The two co-leaders have taken drastically different paths to the final group. Scheffler, last year’s Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, has made a quick transition to the TOUR. He has five top-25s in seven starts this season, including three top-10s. He’s 24th in the FedExCup standings. Weekend scoring has been his only weakness. He leads the TOUR in first-round scoring (66.7) and ranks 12th in second-round scoring. He’s outside the top 100 in each of the final two rounds, though. Scheffler is only 23, though, and each experience has made him more comfortable. “I think this is my best chance, being tied for the lead going into the last round. I’ve gotten off to some good starts but I haven’t been in this position going into the final round. I feel like I’ve been chasing,â€� Scheffler said. “It will be nice to be up there near the lead and it will be a fun day.â€� Saturday was the third time this season that he teed off with at least a share of the 36-hole lead. He couldn’t keep pace the first two times, falling to fifth place both times. This will be the first 54-hole lead of his career. Landry, on the other hand, hasn’t played much on weekends lately. He’s missed the cut in seven of eight starts, and was 5 over par for the season entering this week. That included a 13-over-par performance at last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, where his rusty game – he was sick before making his 2020 debut – got caught up in the high winds. He is 178th in the FedExCup. Landry has one PGA TOUR win, at the 2018 Valero Texas Open, and one strong performance at this event to draw upon. He was runner-up two years ago after pushing Jon Rahm in a playoff. Rahm finally ended it by holing a 12-footer for birdie on the fourth extra hole.  Landry, playing in the final group, holed an 11-foot birdie putt on 18 to force the playoff. Landry also had an 8-footer for the win on the second extra hole and an 11-footer to extend the playoff, but missed both putts.  He also finished T28 at this event last year. He’s 58 under par in his last 11 rounds in this event, dating back to the first round two years ago. Ten of those rounds have been in the 60s.  “We build our schedule around golf courses that fit us. So this is one of them, it fits me,â€� Landry said Saturday. “I enjoy coming out here.â€� A win would make him love it even more.

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ATLANTA — Each of the top five players in the FedExCup standings is guaranteed to win the FedExCup with a victory at this week’s TOUR Championship. In addition, there are certain scenarios for winning the FedExCup should someone outside the top five win the tournament. TOUR Championship leader Tiger Woods is Nos. 2 in the projected FedExCup standings. (He is currently credited with the 2,000 points that come with a victory). Here’s a look at how each top-5 players fared during Saturday’s third round at East Lake. 1. Bryson DeChambeau, 66, T21 (projected 3rd in FedExCup): After a couple of off-kilter rounds (71-75), the FedExCup leader found something with a third-round 66 that could have been even better had he not missed a 6 ½-foot birdie try on 18. DeChambeau hit 8/14 fairways, his most accurate performance off the tee so far this week, which led to the highlight of his round: After finding the short grass off the 17th tee, he hit his 100-yard approach shot into the hole for eagle. 2. Justin Rose, 68, T2 (projected 1st): It was a bogey-bogey start for Rose, but he came back with a birdie at the par-4 third hole, then birdied the fifth and sixth to serve notice that he wouldn’t be going away quietly. He and Rory McIlroy (66) are three behind Tiger Woods (65), but it’s Rose who in the driver’s seat for the FedExCup, which he stands to win as long as he doesn’t finish outside the top five in the TOUR Championship. After hitting 9/14 fairways Saturday, Rose is second in the field in driving accuracy. His Achilles’ heel in the third round: He was 28th (of 30) in Strokes Gained: Putting. 3. Tony Finau, 67, T6 (projected 4th): Finau, who is playing in his second TOUR Championship, hit just 5/14 fairways, which is usually the kiss of death at East Lake. Still, he kept his round together with the putter, figured out an alignment issue on the back nine, and came in with a 31 for a 3-under 67. He did his media obligations and then immediately went to the range after an off-day from tee to green that could have been much worse. “Putting-wise,â€� he said, “I had my A-plus game.â€� 4. Dustin Johnson, 67, T8 (projected 5th): Johnson birdied four of his last six holes Saturday and was solid in every facet: 8/14 fairways, 12/18 greens in regulation, 28 putts and well in positive numbers in Strokes Gained: Putting. His best round of an otherwise blah week, all in all not the finish he wanted after leading the FedExCup standings for much of this season. 5. Justin Thomas, 70, T8 (projected 6th): Still at 4-under for the tournament and going in the wrong direction in the standings in his bid to become the first FedExCup champion to successfully defend his title. He doubled the par-3 15th hole and had to birdie the last two for an even-par 70. Thomas could not practice full shots coming into the tournament due to a right wrist injury, which he suffered in the last round of the BMW Championship, and is in negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Putting. Here’s a look at the top 5 in the projected standings: 1. Justin Rose (2nd in FedExCup), 2,780 projected points 2. Tiger Woods (20th in FedExCup), 2,219 projected points 3. Bryson DeChambeau (1st in FedExCup), 2,160 projected points 4. Tony Finau, (3rd in FedExCup), 1,887 projected points 5. Dustin Johnson (4th in FedExCup), 1,576 projected points

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