Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy were unable to work their way into Tour Championship contention in the third round, and now look unlikely to challenge on the final day at East Lake where Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood share the lead
The duo started the day in a share of seventh place and Lowry got off to the perfect start, racing to three under for the day, ten-under for the tournament with birdies on the third, fifth and sixth holes.
Lowry bounced back from his first bogey of the day on the 11th with a birdie on 13, however, back-to-back dropped shots on 16 and 17 halted his momentum and eventually signed for a 68 to get to nine under thanks to a birdie on the final hole, seven shots adrift of the joint-leaders on 16-under par.
McIlroy's round took a while to ignite as he opened with six pars before dropping a shot on the seventh hole.
However, he bounce back with consecutive birdies on eight and nine to turn on one under, and he added another on the 13th hole to get to nine-under par.
But it all went wrong for the world number two as he played the last four holes in three-over par, starting with a double bogey on the 15th, and two bogeys to finish, with one more birdie sandwiched in on the 16th.
McIlroy will start the final round on six-under par, tied for 16th.
At the top of the standings, Fleetwood's bid for a maiden PGA Tour victory looked on course with four straight birdies, including a successful 44-foot putt after a wayward tee shot on the seventh.
But the 34-year-old Englishman sent his six-iron off the tee into the water at the 15th, and a double-bogey five saw him allow Cantlay edge into the lead.
However, he showed great resilience to claw a shot back at the next, despite driving straight into a bunker, and another birdie at the 17th repaired the damage on his way to a battling round of 67.
But American Cantlay birdied the last to card a 64 and secure a tie at the top on 16-under.
US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who is weighing up whether to pick himself as a player at Bethpage next month, may have made that decision easier after a sparkling 63 kept him in contention.
Bradley is three off the lead, one behind fellow American Russell Henley, while world number one Scottie Scheffler is four back at 12-under.
Additional reporting: PA
