CJ Cup 2021 R3
October 14-17
The Summit Club, Las Vegas, Nevada
$9,750,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 4

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Rickie Fowler shot his best round in three years producing a bogey-free 63 to reach 21-under and take a two-shot lead in the CJ Cup @ Summit in Las Vegas.

CJ Cup 2021 R3

"I've done everything I really wanted to do the first three days. It's nice to be executing the way we are. I say "we," it's a two-man show out there, Joe and myself, and ultimately I'm the one pulling the trigger."

The American's last victory on the PGA Tour dates back to the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2019. He missed out on the FedEx Cup playoffs this summer for the first time in his career and is playing this week on a sponsor exemption. He is currently 128th in the Official World Ranking.

CJ Cup 2021 R3

"I haven't been in this position a whole lot in the last couple years, so to feel the emotions again on the back nine being around and then in the lead, you know, kind of dealing with that again and kind of making sure that I was going through the right process and committing to what I was ultimately trying to do, it was great to see that I was still executing and hitting the shots that I wanted to.

"You drive the ball well around here, it really doesn't matter how tucked the pins are, the greens are still fairly receptive. And I know the weather's supposed to be good, so if I can go execute off the tee, everything can kind of fall into place tomorrow."

CJ Cup 2021 R3

Victory is far from assured however and nine players are within five shots of the lead. The course having yielded low scores throughout the tournament, the average score for the week has been around 68.5 with only one player currently above par in a field of 78.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland started the day in in a tie for 19th at 9-under and got off to a good start with five consecutive birdies from the third hole, finishing with another at the 9th to make the turn in 30. He made two more on the back nine and closed his round with an eagle at the par-5 18th for a bogey-free 62 to move into second place at 19-under.

"I think on a course like this you're going to have stretches where you're going to play good golf and hit good shots and maybe just not hole the putts. I played an eight-hole stretch yesterday in even par, I made eight pars in row. It was nice to finish with a birdie last night."

CJ Cup 2021 R3

"Then today I played a stretch of golf, played nine holes in 6-under and all of a sudden you feel a little better about yourself.

"The big thing is I've played the last two days keeping it in the short stuff and I haven't made any bogeys. That's huge. I said to Harry yesterday, I can't remember the last time I played a round of golf without a bogey and now I've played two rounds in a row, so that's nice to see."

Abraham Ancer (63) of Mexico, American Robert Streb (65) and Australian Adam Scott (67) are tied for third at 18-under.

"This was a lot of fun," said Ancer. "Definitely had a great group today. Me and Rory and Sung Kang were just feeding off each other, we both played really good golf. Every time so far that I played with Rory I've rolled the putter so good, so today was the same case. We just had a great time out there just feeding off each other."

CJ Cup 2021 R3

Overnight leader Keith Mitchell, who started the day with a five-shot lead following rounds of 62-64 closed with a 73 after struggling on the front nine, making three birdies, a bogey and finding the desert for back-to-back double bogeys at the par-4s 8th and 9th. He shares sixth place with England's Tyrrell Hatton (67).

"I hit two bad swings and that's really all it was," said Mitchell. "When you get in the desert, I mean, it is a nightmare. So it was really - the drive on 8 I didn't feel like was that bad, I just had a bad target, pulled it a little bit. And then 9 was - I really just -- it's such a tough tee shot for me and I wasn't sure what club to hit and I just never really figured it out. I hit had a 3-wood and it was a bad swing."

CJ Cup 2021 R3

"I really felt like I played nice on the back. I didn't make a couple putts and I missed the two drives on the par 5s to really try to make eagles, and I hit both of them pretty good and they're only a foot in the bunker. It was a yard or two just from being perfect. That's the difference in a great round and an average round and a terrible round. The last couple days, those one yards have been the other way and then today they were all the opposite.

"Still pleased just to be in the position I am after the round today. I'm glad the last two days were as good as they were so I can have a couple hiccups and still have a chance to win."

CJ Cup 2021 R3