BMW Championship – movers & shakers

Marc Leishman's sensational form continues as he takes a five shot lead into the last round of the BMW Championship, as the fat lady prepares to give Rory a Skype call. Rory is now 10 shots off fourth place, the position he needs to finish to progress to next week's Tour Championship.

A double at the 14th undid what was a good round for Rory up until that point. It looks like Rory will finish around 60th place in the rankings after te BMW, with only the Top 30 going through. 

Rory McIlroy. A golfer. Stat.

Leishman is -19 after a three-under par 68 extended his lead over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler.

"A lot of tournaments you put three rounds together, but maybe not be in a row," said Leishman. "It's very easy to throw a mediocre round in there. Tomorrow I've got to try not to do that."

Sing it people... 'To the left to the left,... to the right to the right...' Jason goes commando at BMW

Some interesting facts for the factoidzzz.

Leishman is 14-under so far on the par-4s, which is on pace to set a new record for a winner in the FedExCup Playoffs. (Jason Day went 15-under in winning THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2015.) Leishman is also excelling on and around the greens, second in the field this week in strokes gained: around the green (+1.477). He was 31st in that category entering the week. …

The largest margin of victory in a FedExCup Playoffs event is eight strokes, which Tiger Woods accomplished twice (2007 TOUR Championship, 2009 BMW Championship). Jason Day won THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2015 by six shots. Leishman currently leads the BMW by five. …

Justin Rose was one of the few to keep a bogey off his card on the way to a 66 (12-under, solo fourth). The Olympic gold medalist from England said he noticed a slight uptick in the wind on Saturday. “Lot of tricky club-making decisions out there,” he said. …

The field’s stroke average for the third round was 69.420, the highest it’s been all week. The second-round stroke average was 69.072, while the first-round average was 68.855.

Unleish the beast. Leishman soaring up FedEx rankings

John Rahm gunning for Tour Championship win

FedExCup No. 5 Jon Rahm could do no wrong earlier this season, registering seven top-10s in a span of 10 starts, highlighted by his win at the Farmers Insurance Open. He hit a sudden dip in form, a summer swoon that saw him miss cuts and/or fail to contend in the majors, and now he’s back again, playing some of his best golf of the year from tee to green.

The 22-year-old from Spain racked up seven birdies against just one bogey and signed for a 65, tied with Lucas Glover (-10, T12) for best of the day. At 11-under, Rahm is eight off the lead.

“I've been really close timing-wise, really close to hitting really good shots,” Rahm said. “My swing hasn't been a hundred percent, maybe 90 percent. This week it's close to a hundred percent. I'm visualizing the shots, hitting them a lot closer to the way I see it.

“Hit more than two perfect shots a round, you're having a really good ball-striking day. I'm fortunate to say there's been least two of them each round. Hopefully I can keep it going.”

Rahm is coming off a T4 at the Dell Technologies Championship and a T3 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. With Jordan Spieth falling down the leaderboard, Rahm could wind up being the most consistent performer over the first three legs of the FedExCup Playoffs.

“My ball-striking was probably close to the best it’s ever been right now,” he said, “so hopefully I can keep going and make a few more putts.”

Get your popcorn and your cooled beverages at the ready, going to be a birdie fest tonight...

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