Tour Championship 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

The 2016 Tour Championship rolled on with Dustin Johnson and Kevin Chappell tied for the lead after the third round with a 54-hole score of eight under par. 

Johnson came into Saturday in the lead after shooting 66 and 67 in the first two rounds. Chappell was right on his heels at six under, so it's fitting they will be in the final pairing Sunday. 

There is not a lot of breathing room for the leaders, with Rory McIlroy and Ryan Moore tied for third at six under. 

Here's the full leaderboard after the third round from East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta:

Johnson, in the midst of the best year of his career, has been on a tear since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, and particularly in September. He finished eighth at the Deutsche Bank Championship and won the BMW Championship two weeks ago. 

Johnson looked early on like he would cruise to a low score by sinking three straight birdies from holes four through six. 

His putter was working early, as evidenced by this shot on No. 5 that increased his lead to three shots, via PGA Tour:

After that run of birdies, ESPN's Jason Sobel tried to equate Johnson's performance with college football:

Johnson slowed down after that, hitting a bogey on seven and consecutive bogeys on 13 and 14 that followed a birdie. He did rebound after that with another birdie on 15 to get his lead back to two shots over Chappell. 

Unfortunately, the bad version of Johnson who often showed up on the weekend in previous years reared his ugly head. He had a double bogey on No. 17 that pushed him out of the lead, though a birdie on No. 18 got him back into a tie with Chappell. 

Chappell did not have a dazzling second round, but his best attribute was avoiding big mistakes. He hit 11 straight pars before his first birdie came on a chip just off the 12th green, via PGA Tour:

Before the third round started, per Randall Mell of the Golf Channel, Johnny Miller had high praise for Chappell's game and future in the sport:

At 30 years old, Chappell is not exactly a young man. He has at least a decade left in the tank, but he needs his first PGA Tour win in order to fulfill his potential. 

As impressive as Johnson and Chappell have been throughout the weekend, there is a lurking giant tied for third who is just two shots off the lead. 

McIlroy had a bogey-free 66 that got his 54-hole score to six under par. This hasn't been a banner year for the 27-year-old, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship to start the month and finished an uninspired 42nd at the BMW Championship two weeks ago. 

Saturday featured a vintage McIlroy performance, though, with Justin Ray of the Golf Channel providing some statistical insight into what was working so well for him:

Moore has the added pressure of playing with McIlroy on Sunday with a potential spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team hanging in the balance. 

Falling further out of contention was Jordan Spieth, who fired his second straight 72 for a three-day score of two over par. The best he can hope for is a strong showing on Sunday that gives him momentum and confidence heading into the Ryder Cup next week. 

The final round is shaping up to be interesting, especially based on how Johnson struggled on the back nine. He and Chappell do have a small cushion to play with, but McIlroy, Moore and Hideki Matsuyama are all serious threats who have proved throughout this tournament they can post a low score. 

Post-Round Reaction

Not showing any frustration after some struggles on the back nine, Johnson was very diplomatic about the plan for Sunday. 

"There's a lot of scenarios that could happen," Johnson said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "But yeah, I'm still going to go out and try to shoot as low a score as possible."

After his round, McIlroy was asked about the FedEx Cup title but didn't want to count his chickens before the eggs hatched. 

“I just need to try and win this golf tournament, and whatever happens after that, happens,” McIlroy said, per the Associated Press (via the Los Angeles Times). “It would just be great to try to win the Tour Championship, and if the chips fall my way, then so be it.” 

In the same AP report, Moore echoed McIlroy's sentiment when asked about the possibility of playing on the Ryder Cup team: “I came here this week to win a golf tournament, and I'm 100 percent focused on that.” 

The course was not offering up a lot of low scores on Saturday, so this is still a wide-open event for the taking.