2021 CJ Cup: Round 4 Matchups

Oct 16, 2021

4for4 Illustrations

I wouldn't blame anyone if they did a double-take looking at the CJ Cup leaderboard heading into the final round. It has literally been years since we have seen the name "Rickie Fowler" standing alone on top going into a final round. Under the tutoring of new swing coach John Tillery, Fowler put in hundreds of hours of practice in the two months between the Wyndham Championship and last week's Shriners Children's Open. After hitting all 18 greens in regulation for the third time in his career, he takes the 54-hole lead for the eighth time after shooting a 9-under 63. The last time he led after the third round was the 2019 Waste Management Open, which was his last victory.

Round two leader, Keith Mitchell, was sitting at 20-under par with a five-shot lead through his first couple of holes, and it appeared he had the potential to run away with the tournament. Things went sour very quickly for him, though, as ended up shooting 3-over par for the rest of his round. Adding to tomorrow's drama is former world's best, Rory McIlroy, threatening a return to glory as well by shooting a 10-under round and vaulting up to second place on the leaderboard, two shots behind Fowler. In total, there are 13 players within four shots of the lead, including Adam Scott, Abraham Ancer and Robert Streb at 18-under par. At this moment, Fowler (+220) is favored slightly over McIlroy (+250). Knowing Fowler might struggle to keep the lead tomorrow, I'm still backing one of my pre-tournament outrights, Abraham Ancer (+750). He has shot 16-under the past two days and has been on fire with both his irons and putter. He is also the fourth-best player on Tour in Sunday scoring over the past year.