Jordan Spieth weathers third round, takes lead into FedEx Cup final 18 holes

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Jordan Spieth put himself in position to win the FedEx Cup … and a day later, found himself taking a lead into the final round.

Spieth didn't need to go low on Saturday. While he cut two strokes off his score against par, his 68 wasn't the stuff of awe. But it didn't have to be.

With that 68, matching his first-round total and following Friday's 66, Spieth walked off the course one stroke better than Henrik Stenson.

They will play again on Sunday (local time), in the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club near Atlanta.

The third round was rainy, damp and just plain tough for scoring. Tough? Soggy fairways made the course play long. Balls that had rolled during the first round died during the third. Players were allowed to pick up and clean balls on the course, but that did nothing for lost distance.

The big change on the leaderboard came elsewhere.

— Stenson was spotty. After putting up a 63 and coming a bogey away from 62 in the first round, he had a 68 on Friday (local time) and entered Saturday (local time) up three strokes on Spieth. He threw his lead away with four bogeys.

— Rickie Fowler, one of five players who can win the FedEx Cup by winning at East Lake, had the best round on a difficult day. His 67, or 3 under for the round, at least put Fowler close to the leaders. albeit four strokes behind Spieth. He moved up five places on the leaderboard and will play with Paul Casey during the final round.

— Of the other two players who can win out, only Bubba Watson remains within a whiff of contention. His 2 under brought him to 1 under for 54 holes. Unless disaster befalls the leaders (Bubba would need a kraken to emerge from a water hazard), Watson has no chance.

— Then, there's Jason Day. After a great run over the past month brought him to No. 1 in world rankings, Day was ordinary again. Even for the day, even for the tournament.

The story now is Spieth, whose year went from Masters and U.S. Open champ to the guy who couldn't make the cut in the first two FedEx Cup tournaments. Who on Thursday had observers wondering just how bad this week would be.

Spieth, it appears, is finally having fun.

Magic returned for Spieth as well. He drained a 20-foot putt on the 16th hole to save par and nailed another 20-footer for birdie — and the lead — on the 18th.

And on Sunday, golf's golden boy has a chance to finish on top. It won't rain on Sunday, forecasters promise with crossed fingers. But East Lake will be wet, meaning another difficult day for scoring.

Nobody wants the FedEx Cup finale to be easy. No way $10 million should be.

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