| -13 S Scheffler (US); -11 J Rahm (Spa), N Taylor (Can); -10 A Hadwin (Can), J Spieth (US); -9 T Hatton (Eng), X Schauffele (US), S-J Im (Kor), J Day (Aus), R Fowler (US) |
| Selected: -8 T Finau (US); -7 J Thomas (US); -5 S Power (Ire); -3 R McIlroy (NI); -2 A Rai (Eng); +1 M Fitzpatrick (Eng) |
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler leads by two shots going into the final round of the Phoenix Open.
American Scheffler’s three-under 68 at TPC Scottsdale on Saturday moved him to 13 under, two clear of Spain’s Jon Rahm and Canada’s Nick Taylor.
Victory for Scheffler, 26, or Rahm, 28, would see them replace Rory McIlroy as the new world number one.
A second successive 67 for England’s Tyrrell Hatton put him in contention as part of a high-quality chasing pack.
Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth joined Canada’s Adam Hadwin on 10 under for the tournament after following up his second-round 63 with a two-under 69.
While world number six Xander Schauffele, former PGA champion Jason Day and 2018 Masters runner-up Rickie Fowler are alongside Hatton on nine under.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy is seemingly out of contention on three under after failing to build on a second-round 67, completed on Saturday morning after bad light stopped play on Friday.
After finishing the final five holes of his second round, McIlroy was quickly back out on the course, carding a one-under 70 to finish the third day in joint 28th.
