Hideki Matsuyama will head into the final day of the BMW Championship seven strokes off the lead after shooting an even-par 71 in Saturday's penultimate round at Wilmington Country Club.

The 2021 Masters champion is 5-under for the tournament in a tie for 18th after dropping seven spots down the leaderboard.

Defending champion Patrick Cantlay took the outright lead at 12-under following a 6-under round of 65, with fellow Americans Xander Schauffele and Scott Stallings one stroke behind in a tie for second.

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits an approach shot at the fifth hole during the third round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, on Aug. 20, 2022. (Kyodo)

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Matsuyama made an inauspicious start with back-to-back bogeys on the first and second before carding his third bogey on the par-3 seventh. He canceled them out with birdies on the ninth, 13th and 18th holes.

"I got flustered and it was a difficult day," Matsuyama said. "My shots and putting weren't in gear, but I'm glad I was able to go par for the round."

The 30-year-old is still dealing with a neck injury that forced his withdrawal from the St. Jude Championship last week, along with pain in his wrist.

"When one part of my body gets better, another part doesn't feel right," he said. "But it's not so bad that I can't play. I want to play well on the final day and go into the last tournament of the season in good shape."

The BMW Championship features players ranked in the PGA's top 70 based on points for the season. Currently 15th in the PGA standings, Matsuyama is in line to qualify among the top 30 players for next week's Tour Championship.