Just 18 holes stand between Tommy Fleetwood and his first career PGA Tour victory. The story entering Saturday’s third round at the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship was whether Fleetwood could finally handle the nerves of leading a tournament on the weekend, and while Moving Day was not particularly smooth for the Englishman, he remains atop the leaderboard after 54 holes in Memphis, Tennessee.
Fleetwood’s weekend opened with a rocky start as he made a double bogey 7 on the par-5 3rd hole, immediately shrinking his lead from four shots to one over Justin Rose. His countryman eventually take a two-shot lead over Fleetwood as Rose was red-hot early, and it immediately felt as if history would be repeating itself. However, Fleetwood settled in from there, bouncing back to close out his front nine in strong fashion and claw his way back into the lead.
Finishing his third round with a 69, Fleetwood sits 14 under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Rose and two in front of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. It is Fleetwood’s third career 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, one he aims to turn into a victory unlike his prior opportunities.
Fleetwood’s lead should be larger. He walked to the 18th tee with a three-shot lead over Rose only to make bogey from the right rough as Rose managed a spectacular birdie to narrow the gap substantially entering Sunday’s final round. With multiple dropped shots to end otherwise strong rounds this week, Fleetwood will undoubtedly look back on those miscues and attempt to push them out of his head if he’s in a similar situation Sunday.
While Fleetwood certainly would have preferred a larger cushion, Rose’s birdie on the last might have helped the 34-year-old out a touch as he’ll once again be paired with his fellow Englishman on Sunday rather than having to stare down Scheffler during the closing stretch of a big-money tournament.
Scheffler, who was six back of Fleetwood entering Moving Day, tied the low round of Saturday with a 65 to surge into third place at 12 under, trimming two-thirds of his deficit in the process. He rolled in a birdie on the last to finish the day with an exclamation point, standing in stark contrast to Fleetwood once again limping into the clubhouse.
Frustrated all week with the Bermuda rough at TPC Southwind, Scheffler has regularly griped about bad lies and the way the ball settles down. Even as he’s run a little hot in Memphis, he’s plotted his way along to another week in contention. Scheffler is once again avoiding mistakes — six birdies compared to one bogey in the third round — and even when he’s dropped a shot this tournament, he quickly bounces back to erase the miscue.
Scheffler will be able to apply serious pressure to the final pairing from the penultimate group, as Fleetwood and Rose be well aware of his presence given the massive crowds around Scheffler will send roars rolling back to the last duo in the field. J.J. Spaun joins Scheffler meaning winners of three 2025 majors will be breathing down the necks of Fleetwood and Rose down the stretch.