Adam Scott’s chances at the US PGA Tour Championship and the season-long FedEx Cup have been dashed by an untimely dose of the flu, the Masters champion crashing out of contention in the third round at East Lake Golf Club.
Scott arrived at the course having had little sleep in a night of fever and chills and was forced onto an IV drip for fluids prior to starting the third round.
The Queenslander started the round in second place, just four shots off the lead of Henrik Stenson, but collapsed to a four-over 74 to plummet to two-under and a tie for 10th in the 30-man field.
Stenson surged to a lead of nine at one point but stumbled with four back-nine bogeys.
Regardless he continued to control the tournament with a one-under 69 pushing him out to 11-under, four shots clear of his nearest rival and nine clear of Scott.
The Swede only needs to convert the win at East Lake to also take out the FedEx Cup and collect $US11.4 million ($A12.14 million).
American Dustin Johnson fired a 67 to move into second place at seven-under while countryman Steve Stricker (68) sits third at five-under.
Scott’s coach Brad Malone said his charge felt a little off after the second round and became much worse at dinner and through the night.
“I noticed at dinner he wasn’t doing so good and he told me his legs were feeling heavy,” Malone said.
“I told him to have an early night but evidently he had a pretty ordinary night of sleep.
“Hopefully it is just a quick bug and nothing too bad.”
Trying to suck it up, Scott just couldn’t fight off the aches, a task made tougher with rain falling through the round.
Needing a strong start, Scott found the rough off the first tee.
He couldn’t reach the green until his third shot and failed to make par from 18 feet to drop back quickly.
Another missed fairway on the third hole resulted in overshooting the green and a missed downhill putt from 10 feet quickly had the Masters champion eight shots back of Stenson.
The margin hit double digits after a fifth hole disaster where he blocked his tee shot right into the trees, was forced to take an unplayable penalty after only just finding his ball and then could only chip back to the fairway.
He left the hole with a double bogey to sound the death knell on his chances.
When he went from fairway bunker to a plugged lie in a greenside bunker on the eighth hole and made another bogey the gap was 12 shots and ballooned to 13 when Stenson birdied the ninth.
A run of pars on the back nine stemmed the bleeding and a 17th hole birdie was of little help despite Stenson’s troubles.
Jason Day carded a two-under 68 to move to even par for the week in a tie for 18th and was very sympathetic of Scott’s predicament given he had also started the tournament under the weather with a sinus infection.
“You just feel absolutely terrible and the last thing you want to do is get up really early and 100 per cent commit and focus on what you need to do,” Day said.
“It’s so hard to concentrate when you have the flu. And then your balance is way off and this is a game where you need to have the equilibrium between your ears.
“With the bad weather he must just be feeling absolutely awful. Trying to play competitive golf against the best players in the world while you’re sick is so tough to do.”
World No.1 Tiger Woods (69) continued to sit near the back of the pack in a tie for 26th at three-over.
