Cantlay has 2-shot lead and $15M payoff in sight

ATLANTA — Patrick Cantlay finished with a 25-foot birdie putt that gave him a two-shot lead over Jon Rahm in the Tour Championship on Saturday and set the stage for a sprint to the $15 million prize.

It might not be a two-man race at East Lake, anymore.

Cantlay’s final birdie allowed him to finish strong after a wobbly four-hole stretch that had winnowed his fourshot lead down to one. He wound up with a 3-under 67 and was at 20-under par, leaving him one round away from the FedEx Cup.

Rahm finished with five straight pars for a 68 and was still very much alive. He went from a four-shot deficit after the 10th hole to a one-shot deficit just five holes later.

It’s not easy to go low at East Lake, but it’s easy to lose ground. Cantlay did that with a pair of mistakes over the final hour.

“Hopefully tomorrow, I can bring my A-game and give this guy in front of me a little bit of a run,” Rahm said.