FedEx St. Jude Championship Round 3: Scheffler Holds Off Sam Burns' Bogey-Free 62

Sunday at TPC Southwind will feature the best player in the world and his closest friend in golf in the final group. Sam Burns earned the seat with a bogey-free 62 on Saturday. Scottie Scheffler kept the lead with a round that was a lot messier than the number.

Scheffler shot 2-under 68 to reach 13-under 197 and leads the FedEx St. Jude Championship by two over Burns and Sungjae Im, both at 11-under 199. Jake Knapp and Tommy Fleetwood are five back at 8 under, and a four-man pack sits at 7 under heading into the final round of the FedExCup Playoffs opener.

Burns Goes Low

Burns' 62 was clean from start to finish, with a run of three straight birdies along the way, per Field Level Media, and a front nine that a reporter put at 5 under in Burns' post-round interview.

The fix was simple, at least the way Burns told it. "I didn't hit the water on 3 today, so that's pretty helpful," Burns said, per the official interview transcript. The bigger change was on the greens. "These greens are so good. If you hit some good putts, you can hole a lot of them," Burns said.

Burns also knows what Sunday is up against. "Scottie is obviously playing great, as he always does. He's not going to lay down," Burns said, per the AP and the PGA TOUR. The plan from there is to put together a really good round and see what happens.

Scheffler Grinds It Out

Scheffler's 68 was not the clinic Friday's 61 was. Scheffler found only one green in regulation through the first five holes, per the AP. On the par-5 3rd, a tree knocked Scheffler's ball straight down into the right rough. Scheffler hacked a short iron out of the rough from 111 yards to 12 feet and made par. The bogey came anyway at the next hole, from behind the green.

The round turned at the par-3 8th, where Scheffler made the first birdie of the day. Back-to-back birdies early on the back nine pushed the lead back out, and a 12-foot par save at the 15th kept it there. A bogey at the 17th, after an approach found a bunker, per Field Level Media, was a late blemish.

"Any time you're holing those 10- to 15-footers, it's really nice to keep the round going," Scheffler said, per the AP.

Since winning the first event of 2026, Scheffler has piled up five runner-up finishes and five more top-4 finishes without another trophy, per the AP. Scheffler has also played Southwind seven times without winning, more than any other course on the PGA TOUR, according to the PGA TOUR.

Friends in the Final Group

That final pairing is where it gets interesting. Burns and Scheffler are close friends, and this will be the first time they have been paired in a final group, per the AP. Burns beat Scheffler with a long birdie putt in a playoff at the 2022 Colonial. The only other Sunday they played together was the 2021 TOUR Championship, when neither was in contention.

"It's always a little weird just because I want him to have success so much and I think he wants the same for me," Scheffler said, per the AP.

Im Keeps Pace, Hovland Hits a Wall

Im played alongside Scheffler and beat the leader for the second straight day, per Field Level Media. The 67 opened with a 35-foot birdie putt at the 1st. Im started Saturday at No. 53 in the FedExCup and was the only player projected to move into the top 50, per the AP. "Every shot matters," Im said.

Viktor Hovland had the toughest day of the contenders. Hovland briefly pulled even with Scheffler, per Field Level Media, then played holes 9 through 15 in 5 over. The damage peaked at the par-4 12th, where two wayward shots cost two penalty strokes and a 6. A 72 dropped Hovland into a tie for 10th at 6 under.

Movers and the Bubble

Si Woo Kim (65), Alex Noren (66) and Hideki Matsuyama (67) all climbed to 7 under, joined there by Brian Harman, who shot 69. Tom Kim posted the other monster number of the day, a 63, per the PGA TOUR leaderboard, to reach 6 under.

Harman's position carries extra weight. At No. 65 in the projected standings, Harman needs a big Sunday to reach the top 50. "That signature series, it's where you want to be," Harman said, per the AP.

Jordan Spieth, part of Thursday's five-way tie for the lead, went the other way. Spieth made no birdie until the 11th, shot 72 and fell into a tie for 19th at 4 under, projected at No. 54 and just outside the cut line for the BMW Championship, per the AP. Keith Mitchell and Maverick McNealy sit on the other side of that line, projected at Nos. 49 and 50.

One Round Left

All of this played out under a heat index that topped 100 degrees, with towels soaked in ice water on every tee, per the AP.

Scheffler has the lead and a two-shot buffer. Burns has the hot hand and the history. Im has a FedExCup spot on the line and has outplayed the leader two days running. The final group goes off as friends. Sunday decides whether that friendship gets a little more complicated.

Catch up on the week in our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, ASAP Sports interview transcript. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.