Fowler surges to the top at The Barclays

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August 28, 2016

Rickie Fowler will take a one-shot lead heading into the final round of The Barclays after carding a three-under-par 68 on Saturday.

Fowler currently sits on nine-under, while overnight leader Patrick Reed is just one stroke behind in second place on eight-under.

Australia’s Adam Scott rocketed up the leaderboard with his round of 65 and is now in third on seven-under.

Meanwhile, defending champion Jason Day also remains in contention as he is four strokes adrift of the lead in a tie for sixth.

Fowler, who is on the hunt for his first PGA Tour title since September 2015, made two birdies on the front nine and followed it up with just a solitary birdie at the 18th on the back nine. Despite this, it was enough to see him claim the outright lead going into the final day of The Barclays.

Reed held a two-shot lead at the beginning of the day, but quickly saw that disappear as a result of his turbulent round of 71, which began with him making three birdies and three bogeys on the front nine. With the 26-year-old’s back nine consisting of nothing but pars, he dropped down one spot on the leaderboard, but still has a chance to make amends on Sunday.

Scott rose 23 places on the leaderboard on Saturday and began his round in style as he holed his approach shot from 95 yards to record an eagle at the par-four first. He proceeded to make three birdies and a bogey to round off the front nine. The Australian continued to impress on the back nine as he made three more birdies, which included a 45-foot putt at the 12th and 44-foot putt at the 15th, and a bogey to put himself in contention heading into the final round.

Meanwhile, Day registered his second consecutive round of 70, which began with him making three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine. The world number one was unable to overcome his sluggish start as he made two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine. The Australian will now need to come up with something special on Sunday should he have any chance of retaining his title.