Saturday was another blistering day of golf in the 901. The third round of the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship got underway with a delayed start, and the golfers were ready for everything TPC Southwind could throw. With the overnight rain, the greens seemed to have a slower roll to them, but the change in pin positions on Saturday was a brutal reminder that even though the conditions might favor a low round, there’s always a trick around the corner in the game of golf.

Hideki Matsuyama held on to a two-stroke lead over Nick Dunlap at 14 under through the front nine. Lurking behind Dunlap and Matsuyama through the first nine, Sam Burns snapped his driver in half on the 9th tee box after an errant tee shot to the left side in the rough.

As the front nine turned to the back nine, Scottie Scheffler birdied the 11th par three to cut into the lead by moving to 10 under par, just four shots off the leader of Hideki Matsuyama. Sam Burns birdied on the 10th to take third place away from Scheffler by a stroke. On the 11th par three, Sam Burns hit a beautiful nine iron to give him a makable birdie putt, while Matsuyama hit a similar shot, setting the scene for two makawable birdie putts by the two. Hideki Matsuyama was the only successful birdie putt, reaching 15 under par.

Despite mishaps on the 12th hole, Nick Dunlap saved a par putt to keep with three shots of Matsuyama.

However, as the afternoon progressed, Hideki Matsuyama found lighting in a bottle on Saturday, finishing the third round with a five-stroke lead at 17 under par. Nick Dunlap is in second at 12 under, while Viktor Hovland sits there at third, while Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns linger at fourth with a score of 10 under.

It’ll be interesting to see if Hideki Matsuyama can fight back the nerves and take his five-stroke lead to the finish line to claim the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship. If not, and things go south, Sunday has the potential to have an unreal amount of drama and heart-stopping golf that even novice fans can sit back and enjoy.