Thomas explodes, Scott holds on

Justin Thomas headed for a remarkable 61 today. Image: Getty

Justin Thomas has blown the field in the BMW Championship in Medina, but the strong season-long form of Adam Scott has continued, while the Jason Day season is effectively over.

Thomas beat the track record in his third round 61, starting with five consecutive birdies, and ran from 160 meters for eagle in the par-four 16th hole.

He leads through six shots with a round to play in Chicago and is moving away from his first win of the season.

Scott is in 18th place after a third consecutive lap below standard, but is well out of the running at nine under and 12 shots. However, the Australian will be satisfied knowing that no matter what happens tomorrow, he will be in 30 for the Tour Championship in Atlanta next week.

The same goes for Marc Leishman, who took shape today with a 67, but Jason Day, who needed a top-five finish in Chicago this week, is in 36th place and will go home without a miracle tomorrow.

Another notable achievement today came from Tiger Woods (67), whose position in the US Presidential Cup team is on the verge of picking up.

The two groups of eight qualifying tournaments for the Royal Melbourne Cup in December will be determined tomorrow morning based on FedEx Cup points. There will later be a discretionary selection of four players for each team from those who did not automatically qualify.

But the decent shape of Woods after he had to retire last week hopes he can still play in the Presidential Cup, where he is the US captain.