BMW Championship 2022: Patrick Cantlay Holds 1-Stroke Lead Entering Final Round

Patrick Cantlay is 18 holes away from his first solo victory of the season after posting a 65 in the third round at the 2022 BMW Championship on Saturday.

The American star is 12-under par overall, one shot better than Xander Schauffele and Scott Stallings for the top spot. Adam Scott, who led the field coming into the third round, is tied for fourth place with Scottie Scheffler at 10-under par.

Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard from Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware.

2022 BMW Championship: Third Round Leaderboard

1. Patrick Cantlay (-12)

T2. Xander Schauffele (-11)

T2. Scott Stallings (-11)

T4. Adam Scott (-10)

T4. Scottie Scheffler (-10)

T6. Collin Morikawa (-9)

T6. Aaron Wise (-9)

T8. Joaquin Niemann (-8)

T8. Corey Conners (-8)

T10. Denny McCarthy (-7)

T10. Taylor Pendrith (-7)

T10. Sungjae Im (-7)

T10. Rory McIlroy (-7)

Full leaderboard via PGATour.com.

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Cantlay, the defending champion at this tournament, was in sixth place coming into the third round after back-to-back scores of 68. He immediately started hot on Saturday with a birdie on his first hole. The 30-year-old posted a bogey-free 32 on the front nine.

After a bogey on No. 11, Cantlay kicked things into high gear. He went four-under in his next three holes, including an eagle from 105 yards out on the par-five 14th.

Cantlay fell back into a tie for the lead at 11-under par with a bogey on No. 17 but moved back into sole possession of the top spot with a birdie on his final hole.

Things started well for Schauffele with a birdie on No. 1. He took advantage of the par-five third hole with a 324-yard tee shot. His second shot stopped within six feet of the hole, leaving him with an easy eagle putt.

Schauffele had a spotless scorecard with three birdies, an eagle and no bogeys. He is chasing his fourth win of the season heading into the final round.

Scott had a mostly uneventful round en route to finishing with a 69. The Australian was even-par on the back nine in the third round with one bogey and one birdie.

One player who would have preferred an uneventful round on Saturday based on what actually happened was Jordan Spieth. The three-time major champion entered the day tied for second, one shot off the lead at seven-under par. He ended it in a tie for 26th place after a three-over 74 dropped his total score to four-under par.

Starting on the third hole, Spieth had a run on the front nine where he went birdie-birdie-double bogey-birdie-bogey-bogey-bogey to make the turn at two-over for the round.

Even though Spieth has likely played himself out of contention for the win, Cantlay shouldn't get too comfortable at the top of the standings. There has been a different leader after each of the first three rounds of the tournament this weekend.

Cantlay won last year's BMW Championship by defeating Bryson DeChambeau in a playoff. He's seeking his first solo tournament win of the season after a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a team event with Schauffele.