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Virginia Beach golfer Marc Leishman takes five stroke lead into final round of BMW Championship

Posted at 10:04 PM, Sep 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-16 22:07:17-04

Marc Leishman hits his tee shot during the third round of the BMW Championship. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Marc Leishman, a Virginia Beach resident, is 18 holes from a marquee victory on the PGA Tour.

Leishman takes a five stroke lead into Sunday's final round of the BMW Championship - his second straight 54 hole lead. He's the second player this season to hold 54 leads/co-leads in consecutive events (Justin Thomas).

In his previous 54-hole lead, at the Dell Technologies Championship in his most recent start, he finished third. Should Leishman go on to win the BMW Championship, he would join five players who have won this this event in wire-towire (no ties) fashion.

The BMW Championship is the next-to-last event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Leishman is currently No. 7 in the FedExCup standings. He will likely need a solo-second or win to move into the top five. The top five in the FedExCup Playoff standings is the goal for players after the BMW Championship.

Marc Leishman hits his tee shot during the third round of the BMW Championship. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The top five in the standings entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny and will win the FedExCup with a victory at East Lake GC. The winner of the FedEx Cup Playoffs earns a $10 million prize.

The third-round leader/co-leader has won the last three consecutive years (Billy Horschel/2014, Jason Day/2015, Dustin Johnson/2016) at the BMW Championship.

Leishman is wearing a ribbon on his Callaway golf cap to promote Sepsis Awareness Month. In 2015, Marc's wife Audrey nearly lost her life to Sepsis - along with Toxic Shock Syndrome and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). The family's charity, the Begin Again Foundation, was born out of a fiery passion for helping others. The foundation works to bring life’s most pressing needs to families experiencing medical and life crises while doing its part to educate - especially during the month of September.

A victory at the BMW would be Leishman's third career PGA Tour victory and his second this season (Arnold Palmer Invitational).