The final pairing at the 2025 Tour Championship will feature a pair of players looking to pull off a relatively unlikely victory given their respective histories entering East Lake Golf Club. Should Patrick Cantlay or Tommy Fleetwood emerge as FedEx Cup champion at the conclusion of play Sunday, it will mark their first win of the season — for Fleetwood, the first win of his entire PGA Tour career.
Though Fleetwood led by as many as three strokes during Moving Day, he came back to the pack with a double bogey and ultimately posted a 67. This as Cantlay charged from behind with a 64 — his lowest round since January — to match the Englishman at 16 under atop the leaderboard. Neither of their names may have been in this position had the old starting strokes format remained for the FedEx Cup Playoffs finale; rather than Scottie Scheffler starting the first round with a 10-stroke advantage, he’ll be battling from four shots back with 18 holes to play. Indeed, the PGA Tour has successfully created parity on its final leaderboard of the season.
Fleetwood entered the weekend with a share of the lead in his latest attempt at capturing his first PGA Tour crown. It was mostly smooth sailing across the first 14 holes of his third round, as he was 3 under on his day and pushed the lead out to three shots as 36-hole co-leader Russell Henley stalled out.
However, disaster struck on the 220-yard, par-3 15th hole as Fleetwood made his worst iron swing of the day at the worst time, leaving a 6 iron in the water, short and right of the green. That led to a double bogey that dropped him out of the lead, seemingly the latest example of Fleetwood flying too close to the sun in his pursuit of a first stateside victory. Instead of wilting, he showed some incredible resolve to bounce back with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to reclaim a share of the lead going into the final round.
Cantlay is looking to snap a drought of his own as he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2022; however, the friendly confines of East Lake Golf Club — where he won the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup back in 2021 — are working their magic with his game. Cantlay came into Atlanta not only needing a big week to create a positive result from this season but also to make a final push for a spot on the United States Ryder Cup team.
Through three rounds, he has accomplished that goal. On Saturday, Cantlay shot his second 64 of the week to get to 16 under, charging to the clubhouse with four birdies in his final five holes. Given the difficulty of the 14th and 15th, that was quite the accomplishment, and it was enough to get Cantlay into the final pairing with a chance at a second career FedEx Cup crown.
The co-leaders will enter Sunday with some heavy burdens on their shoulders, which should create a fascinating, dramatic final round at the Tour Championship.
For Fleetwood, it will be his third attempt at converting a 54-hole lead or co-lead this season, as he’s fallen painfully short on Sundays at the Travelers Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship. Cantlay will not only be looking to impress U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, he’ll be competing alongside him for the Tour Championship as Bradley is only three shots back. All of this with a $10 million prize and the FedEx Cup title on the line.
Tommy Fleetwood’s 54-hole leads on PGA Tour
|
2025 Tour Championship |
0 (T1) |
— |
|
2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship |
1 |
T3 |
|
2025 Travelers Championship |
3 |
T2 |
|
2020 Cognizant Classic |
1 |
3rd |
The leaders
1. Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay (-16): For the third time this season. we will ride the rollercoaster that is a final round with Fleetwood in the final pairing. The first two ended in more heartbreak, but he continues to say he’d rather be in those positions than not. Fleetwood will get another chance to shed the weight of all those close calls Sunday.
In his way will be Cantlay, who can sew up a Ryder Cup spot with a win and turn the final pairing into a Sunday singles preview for Bethpage Black. Cantlay has returned to form with the irons and putter this week after a down season in both categories, and his comfort at East Lake could help settle his nerves a bit quicker on Sunday.
Contenders
3. Russell Henley (-14)
4. Keegan Bradley (-13)
5. Scottie Scheffler (-12)
Henley couldn’t get it out of first gear Saturday, but a birdie on the 18th got him into third alone, just two off the lead. He gave that a small fist pump as he knew how important it was to stay in touch with Cantlay and Fleetwood, and he will look to apply some early pressure Sunday at a course he’s played well in his career.
Bradley fired the round of the day with a 63, tying his lowest stretch of the season. He had a phenomenal day, including a hole-out eagle on the 6th, as he’s charged into contention over the last two days. Bradley has played well enough to take most of the stress out of the decision whether to pick himself for the Ryder Cup team, so now he can go into Sunday looking to track down a FedEx Cup title.
And then there’s Scheffler, lurking four shots off the pace after a frustrating day with the flat stick. The world No. 1 missed three putts inside 10 feet for birdie Saturday. After his last one, he spiked his putter into his bag. Following his round, he said he felt just a bit off on his reads, but if he gives himself that many good looks again Sunday, he could absolutely make a run at the top of the leaderboard.
2025 Tour Championship updated odds, picks
- Tommy Fleetwood (8/5)
- Patrick Cantlay (2-1)
- Scottie Scheffler (11/2)
- Russell Henley (6-1)
- Keegan Bradley (16-1)
A financial investment on Fleetwood is not needed to sweat along with the Englishman as he attempts to close out his first win. The move is to abstain from the final pairing. Henley provides the most value. He didn’t have his best Saturday but still scratched out a 69 to stay in the mix, and he is capable of going low — darting in front of Fleetwood and Cantlay in the final stretch.
