hird-Round Notes – Saturday, August 28, 2021
Weather: Partly Sunny. High of 87. Wind NNE 5-10 mph.
Third-Round Leaderboard
Bryson DeChambeau 68-60-67—195 (-21)
Patrick Cantlay 66-63-66—195 (-21)
Sungjae Im 67-65-66—198 (-18)
Rory McIlroy 64-70-65—199 (-17)
Abraham Ancer 66-67-66—199 (-17)
Sam Burns 64-70-65—199 (-17)
Sergio Garcia 65-67-67—199 (-17)
Things to Know
- Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay are among six players who have won twice this season; no player has won three times in 2020-21
- DeChambeau, Cantlay will play together in the final group in a final round for the second time; they previously played together in the final grouping in the final round of the 2018 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, which DeChambeau won; each has won the Memorial Tournament (Dechambeau in 2018, and Cantlay in 2019 and 2021)
- 21-under par equals the second-lowest 54-hole score to par in a FedExCup Playoffs event
Lowest 54-Hole Score to Par in FedExCup Playoffs |
2020 THE NORTHERN TRUST | Dustin Johnson | -22 |
2021 BMW Championship | Bryson DeChambeau | -21 |
2021 BMW Championship | Patrick Cantlay | -21 |
2019 BMW Championship | Justin Thomas | -21 |
2015 BMW Championship | Jason Day | -20 |
- A 54-hole leader/co-leader has not won since Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship, a span of 14 events. Only 15 players in 45 individual stroke-play events (33 percent) holding at least a share of the third-round lead have gone on to win, compared to 19 of 35 in 2020 (54 percent)
- After rounds of 64-66, World No. 1 and defending champion Jon Rahm posts a 2-under 70 and sits five shots off the lead; the six-time PGA TOUR winner has never successfully defended a title
- Three of the four players who qualified for their first BMW Championship are inside the top 12: Sam Burns (T4), Erik van Rooyen (T10), K.H. Lee (T12); other: Cam Davis (T22)
- Current projections of player(s) to move into top 30: Sergio Garcia
- Current projections of player(s) to move outside top 30: Max Homa
Third-Round Lead Notes
11 Third-round leaders/co-leaders since 2000 at the BMW Championship to go on to win
(most recent: Justin Thomas/2019)
- Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win on PGA TOUR in 2020-21
(most recent: Phil Mickelson/PGA Championship)
About the Co-Leaders (entering the week)
Category | Bryson DeChambeau | Patrick Cantlay |
Age | 27 (9/16/1993) | 29 (3/17/1992) |
FedExCup | 9 | 4 |
OWGR | 6 | 10 |
Starts at BMW Championship | 4 | 4 |
Wins at BMW Championship | 0 | 0 |
Top-10s at BMW Championship | 0 | 2 |
Career PGA TOUR starts | 130 | 119 |
Career PGA TOUR wins | 8 | 4 |
Career PGA TOUR top-10s | 33 | 30 |
PGA TOUR starts in 2020-21 | 20 | 22 |
PGA TOUR wins in 2020-21 | 2 | 2 |
PGA TOUR top-10s in 2020-21 | 7 | 5 |
Bryson DeChambeau (T1/-21)
- Holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the fifth time; is 3-for-4 in converting to victory
Tournament | 54-Hole Lead/Co-Lead | Finish |
2019 3M Open | T1 | T2 |
2018 Shriners Children’s Open | T1 | Won |
2018 THE NORTHERN TRUST | 1 | Won |
2018 the Memorial Tournament | 1 | Won (via playoff) |
- Eight-time PGA TOUR winner seeks to become the first three-time winner this season (2020 U.S. Open, 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard); is one of six multiple winners
- Seeks third FedExCup Playoffs win (2018 THE NORTHERN TRUST, 2018 Dell Technologies Championship), which would move him to fourth-most Playoffs wins (6/Dustin Johnson, 5/Rory McIlroy, 4/Tiger Woods)
- Seeks to reclaim the lead in the FedExCup standings; held the lead a total of 20 weeks over the season, the most of any player in 2020-21 (next: 9/Patrick Cantlay)
- 195 marks his second-lowest 54-hole total on TOUR (best: 194/2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational)
- Made back-to-back eagles (Nos. 4-5) for the first time in his career; four eagles marks his most in an event and 19th of the season (TOUR leader: Cam Davis/20); ties the record for most eagles in a FedExCup Playoffs event (four times); became the fourth player to record back-to-back eagles this season (most recent: Jordan Spieth/2021 THE NORTHERN TRUST/R2)
- Career-best finish in the FedExCup: 3rd/2018 after entering the TOUR Championship as the FedExCup leader
- Making his fifth start in the BMW Championship, with a T19 in 2018 his best finish; the BMW Championship is one of three tournaments he has made four or more starts without a top-10 finish (5/Masters Tournament, 4/BMW Championship, 4/The Open Championship)
- Leads the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (5.176), Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (5.820) and Driving Distance (326.7); Ranks third in Strokes Gained: Putting (7.542)
Patrick Cantlay (T1/-21)
- Holds 54-hole lead/co-lead for the second time (2020 Shriners Children’s Open/T8); Marks ninth lead/co-lead after any round; has never gone on to win after a holding at least a share of a lead after any round on TOUR
- Seeks fifth PGA TOUR victory and third of the season to become the first three-time winner of the season; 2020-21 marks his first multi-win season on TOUR; one of six multiple winners (2020 ZOZO Championship, 2021 the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday)
- 195 marks his second-lowest 54-hole total on TOUR (best: 193/2019, 2020 Shriners Children’s Open)
- Seeks to reclaim the lead in the FedExCup standings; held the lead a total of nine weeks over the season, second to Bryson DeChambeau (20 weeks)
- Fifth start in the BMW Championship; Runner-up in 2019 at Medinah Country Club marks best finish at the event
- Missed the TOUR Championship in 2020 for the first time since 2017, finishing No. 34 in the FedExCup
- Leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (10.791) and Total Birdies (23)
Miscellaneous Player Notes
- 2012 BMW Championship winner and first-round co-leader Rory McIlroy (T4) posts a bogey-free 7-under 65; in addition to his 2012 victory, finished inside the top-10 in 2014/T8, 2015/T4 and 2018/5th; two-time FedExCup champion has five FedExCup Playoffs titles, second only to Dustin Johnson (6)
- Sergio Garcia, who entered the week No. 44 in the FedExCup, is T4 after rounds of 65-67-67 and is projected at No. 27 as he seeks a return to the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2017
- Erik van Rooyen, the only first-timer remaining in the FedExCup Playoffs, cards rounds of 67-68-67 to sit at T10; van Rooyen was ranked No. 139 before winning the Barracuda Championship to move inside the top 125 to No. 78; After entering the FedExCup Playoffs at No. 76, he finished seventh at THE NORTHERN TRUST to move to No. 45; is currently projected No. 33.
- Dustin Johnson records a 65, his 93rd sub-70 round in the FedExCup Playoffs, the most of any player (next: Adam Scott/90)
Players on the TOUR Championship bubble
YTD FedExCup | Projected FedExCup | Player | BMW Pos./Score |
23 | 26 | Daniel Berger | T32 (-7) |
44 | 27 | Sergio Garcia | T4 (-17) |
29 | 28 | Charley Hoffman | T26 (-8) |
27 | 29 | Billy Horschel | T64 (E) |
26 | 30 | Patrick Reed | DNP |
40 | 31 | Hudson Swafford | 9 (-15) |
37 | 32 | K.H. Lee | T12 (-12) |
45 | 33 | Erik van Rooyen | T10 (-14) |
36 | 34 | Cam Davis | T22 (-9) |
43 | 35 | Alex Noren | T12 (-12) |
Course Statistics
Toughest Hole Easiest Hole
R1: Par-4 18th (4.101) Par-5 12th (4.449)
R2: Par-4 18th (4.304) Par-5 2nd (4.319)
R3: Par-3 3rd (3.087) Par-5 2nd (4.377)
Scoring Averages
Front Nine Back Nine Total Cumulative
R1: 34.667 34.551 69.217
R2: 34.391 35.522 69.913 69.565
R3: 34.435 34.797 69.232 69.454
Bogey-free rounds
R1 (8): Sam Burns (64), Jon Rahm (64), Sergio Garcia (65), Daniel Berger (68), Joaquin Niemann (68), Cameron Smith (68), Stewart Cink (69), Harris English (69)
R2 (5): Bryson DeChambeau (60), Scottie Scheffler (66), Sergio Garcia (67), Erik van Rooyen (68), Jordan Spieth (70)
R3 (8): Louis Oosthuizen (64), Rory McIlroy (65), Jason Kokrak (65), Stewart Cink (66), Alex Noren (67), Erik van Rooyen (67), Charl Schwartzel (68), Daniel Berger (70)
