Brendon Todd heads into the final round of the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational with a one shot lead after Saturday's 69 but he has a world class chasing pack breathing down his neck.
Todd came into Moving Day two strokes clear of his nearest challenger but was knocked off the top of the leaderboard after ten holes of the third round as a mixed start and a charge from playing partner Rickie Fowler saw him slip backwards.
Back to back birdies at the 12th and 13th put Todd back in control and even though he sandwiched a fine birdie putt at the 16th with two bogeys towards the end of his round, he led the way on 12 under par.
Byeong Hun An was Todd's nearest competitor after reeling off four birdies in a row from the 13th before making a brilliant up-and-down on the 18th to get to 11 under.
Fowler was another shot behind in third after following up three birdies on his front nine with two bogeys on the stretch, while defending champion Brooks Koepka was in fourth on nine under after firing four birdies in a row around the turn on his way to a battling 68.
Todd knows what it takes to win, having recorded two victories on the US PGA Tour in November last year, but admits taking home the trophy on Sunday would be a dream come true.
He said: "I'm excited to be in this position and feel like if I can go out there and swing a little better and keep this putting momentum going, I'll be in good shape.
"Tonight I've just got to go rest and come out refreshed and ready to play tomorrow because winning a WGC would be the biggest win of my career and something I've been dreaming of doing for a long time."
Todd got off to a strong start on day three, stretching his lead to three shots with a lovely birdie from 15 feet on the first green before saving par from seven feet on the second.
Fowler cut the gap when he holed his birdie chip from off the green at the long third before Todd dropped his first shot of the day on the fifth.
Another birdie at the seventh, after he had sent his approach shot to around eight feet, saw him join Todd at the summit, but he was not there for long as the overnight leader rolled in from 22 feet at the short eighth to return to 12 under.
Fowler was on a roll, though, and regained a share of the lead with a fast 18 foot birdie at the ninth as he covered the front nine in 32 shots.
And when Todd was unable to save par from 12 feet at the tenth, Fowler finally snatched the outright lead.
But the pair switched places when Todd knocked in his 15 foot birdie putt at the 12th and playing partner Fowler made his first bogey of the day on the very same hole.
The 35-year-old doubled his advantage thanks to a brilliant approach into the 13th that gave him a tap in birdie, but he was not two shots in front for long as his tee shot at the short 14th plunged into the water and he made another bogey.
Todd may have been concerned that the pendulum might swing back Fowler's way when he landed his second shot at the 16th in the huge greenside bunker but he splashed out to 16 feet before draining his birdie putt to move two clear once more.
An also picked up a shot at the 16th to make it four birdies in a row and join Fowler in a tie for second on 11 under.
Todd failed to find the green with his third shot at the 17th and when he missed his par putt from the shoulder, he fell back to 12 under. Fowler was also unable to save par, leaving An as Todd's nearest challenger.
An made a sensational up-and-down at the last to head into the final round just one shot behind leader Todd, who also made a par at the 18th.
After his round, An said: "Coming in I made four birdies in a row, I think that helps, and then a nice up-and-down on the last, so got some momentum going for tomorrow."
The round of the day came from Englishman Tom Lewis, who shot ten birdies - including five on the spin from the 12th - and a single bogey on his way to a scintillating 61.
