Viktor Hovland in line for big bonus at Tour Championship with six ...

Second seeded Viktor Hovland turned the heat up on the rest of the field to open up a six-shot advantage headed into the final round of the FedEx Cup season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta that carries a $18 million bonus. The Norwegian’s 4 under par 66 on Moving Day at the East Lake Golf Club was the dominant performance in a weather-interrupted penultimate round.

Coming into the final round of the PGA Tour season with a title-winning 61 in the final round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields near Chicago, Hovland has been unrelenting in his pursuit of excellence at Atlanta with scores of 68, 64 and 66 so far for a 20 under total with Tokyo Olympics champion Xander Schauffele closest to him on 16 under.

Hovland was tied with Collin Morikawa at the start of the third round, with top seed Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Schauffele all in close pursuit. At no point through Moving Day, even with a weather delay, was the Norwegian put under any pressure, which Schauffele said later he would try and change in the final round.

“I know what I need to do,” Schauffele, who will play in the last pairing alongside Hovland, said on the PGA Tour website. “I need to go out and try and put as much pressure on him tomorrow on that front nine as I can and hope for the best.”

The top Asian after 54 holes was Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim in 24th place, while Sungjae Im (68) and Si Woo Kim (68) were in a share of 25th in the 30-man field in what has overall been a sub-par performance from the three Koreans.

At one point on Saturday, Hovland, who started the tournament with an 8-under edge as the second seed, had taken his lead to seven shots, and it looked as though that's how he would end the day until he missed a seven-foot birdie putt in the gathering dusk.

“To win the FedEx Cup is pretty cool,” Hovland said later. “That's where all the tournaments we play earlier in the year leads to.

“I feel like I've just become a little bit more complete, and I don't have to hit it my best to be in contention. I don't have to hit every shot pure. I can miss it slightly and get up-and-down and move on.”

A win on Sunday would be the former Hero World Challenge champion’s third in his last eight starts. His final-round 61 at the BMW was arguably the round of the year and one of the best final rounds in recent memory. Hovland has also had a solid run at the majors with top 20 finishes at all four including a T7 at the Masters and runner-up to Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship.

Schauffele, who has an enviable record of never having finished lower than seventh place or shot over par in his seven starts at the Tour Championship, had a 68 and was at 14 under, having missed a couple of close putts for par and birdie in the closing stages of his round.

Collin Morikawa didn't make a birdie until the 16th hole in his round of 73, leaving him seven shots behind with Keegan Bradley, who had to birdie two of the last four holes for a 70 while Scheffler only started making putts late in his round of 73 that tied him with Rahm (71), leaving both nine shots behind and out of contention for the FedEx Cup title.

The third ranked Rory McIlroy, who started six shots behind the leader, dropped three shots on the front nine and didn't make a birdie over his last seven holes for his penultimate 71 and was shots behind Hovland.

As a reminder, Hovland may lead by six and have just 18 holes to go, but last year, Scheffler started the final round with a six-shot lead over McIlroy, only to shoot 73 as the Northern Ireland star rallied for a 66 to beat him by one shot.

If he wins, Hovland in addition to his $18 million payout will earn a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and could also end up with player of the year honours, having also won the Memorial and the BMW Championship.