Rory McIlroy carded a second successive three-under 67 at the Tour Championship on Friday, but the unshakeable Scottie Scheffler remains the man to catch in Atlanta, Georgia.
Players started the event with their shot advantages determined by their place in the FedEx Cup standings. Scheffler began on 10-under and he has not looked back, following Thursday's 65 with a 66 to move to 19-under-par overall.
McIlroy began the day eight shots behind Scheffler in a tie for sixth, hoping to eat into that deficit going into the weekend. Three birdies and no bogeys kept him going in the right direction but he is now nine shots off the leader.
Scheffler's playing partner Xander Schauffele, buoyed by a birdie-birdie-eagle finish, posted a seven-under 63 to jump to 17-under, two off the lead. Jon Rahm also shot a 63 to move into third at 13-under.
Scheffler, the world No 1, began the FedEx Cup finale Thursday with a two-shot edge via the season-long points race, and after one round he moved ahead by five.
Following a few wayward tee shots down the stretch Friday, he left the door cracked open for Schauffele to make his charge.
Scheffler led the field by as many as eight strokes early in Friday's round. He birdied Nos 2, 3 and 6 to reach 18-under while Schauffele was slower to get going.
But Schauffele shot a six-under 29 on the back nine, while Scheffler birdied No 12 before slowing down with six straight pars. He missed the fairway at both 13 and 14, then left his tee shot at the par-three 15th short, barely avoiding the water hazard.
Schauffele rolled in birdie putts at the 16th and 17th holes, but his most impactful swing came at No 18.
Scheffler found rough off the 18th tee once again and struggled his way to par. Schauffele placed a 350-yard drive at the edge of the fairway, then carried both a water hazard and multiple greenside bunkers onto the green just5 feet from the pin.
His straight-ahead eagle putt sliced a four-shot deficit in half.
Rahm, who began the tournament three-under and seven shots behind Scheffler, is giving chase for the second straight year after he challenged eventual champion Patrick Cantlay at East Lake in 2021. Rahm birdied five of his first eight holes en route to his 63.
