Fleetwood fired a one-under 69 in the third round, just edging out fellow Englishman Justin Rose. The tension between the two rose early in the round after Fleetwood double-bogeyed the third hole while Rose made birdie, a three-shot swing that dramatically cut into the 34-year-old’s lead. Fleetwood responded well, rebuilding his lead to three shots. But his advantage narrowed again on the 18th hole, where a drive into the rough led to a bogey. World number one Scottie Scheffler also hurled himself into contention with six birdies, finishing Saturday two shots off the lead on 65. JJ Spaun and Andrew Novak are a shot further back, tied for fourth on 11 under par. “It’s just another opportunity for me to go out and try and have the best round of golf I can, enjoy being in that position,” Fleetwood told the PGA Tour website. “The more I put myself there, the more chance there is of it happening, and just go out and keep learning from every experience. “It might be my day, it might not, but being there is the most important thing and I’ll continue to try and do that.” Only the top 70 in the season-long FedEx rankings have qualified for the event, although Rory McIlroy opted not to play this week, with the top 50 after the tournament reaching next week’s BMW Championship. The top 30 after that will contest the Tour Championship in pursuit of a 10million dollar (£7.4million) bonus.