BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Kramer Hickok shot a 2-under 68 in the third round and takes a one-shot lead over Stephan Jaeger into Sunday’s final round. The 26-year-old is seeking his first Web.com Tour win and is looking to become the first wire-to-wire winner of the season.

After being tied for the lead with Jaeger for the majority of the back nine, Hickok took the outright lead on the par-3 17th, where he made a 20-foot birdie putt to move to 12 under. The Austin, Texas, native combined three birdies with a lone bogey in his third round and ranks second in driving accuracy, hitting 35 of 42 fairways through 54 holes.

“I really didn’t get myself too far out of position,” said the University of Texas alum. “I had one bogey today and it was just one bad drive, but the rest of the day, it was just easy pars. Just a consistent day all around. I didn’t get myself in trouble and I wasn’t too stressed.”

Hickok earned the Order of Merit title on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada in 2017, where he secured two wins and three runner-up finishes. His successful season allowed him to gain fully exempt status on the Web.com Tour this season.

“I’m always drawing back on those past memories and winning out there,” Hickok said. “Just trying to remember making those clutch putts and I certainly did that today. There were a few putts that I needed to make to keep the momentum going and I think tomorrow, it’ll just be one of those rounds where I’m looking back on all the positive things that I’ve done in my career.”

Hickok is the only player inside the top 10 on the leaderboard to have already secured his card through the Regular Season. He is looking to improve his Priority Rankings through these four Finals events.

“I feel like if I was in their shoes, I would have a little more pressure,” Hickok commented about the players looking to earn their cards via The Finals 25. “I feel like there would be more weight on my shoulders in order to play well. Being in my shoes, I have everything locked up and ready to go. I can’t move backwards, so all I can do is go out and play good golf.”

Hickok is looking to become the 20th first-time winner on the Web.com Tour this season.

“I really want to get a win,” Hickok said. “I’ve had a second and a third this year and I’ve been in the lead going in the back nine and finished a little short. I would love to get a win.”

Heading into the final round one stroke back, Jaeger’s 2-under 68 was highlighted by four consecutive birdies on Nos. 9-12. Despite only hitting 21 of 42 fairways this week, the German relied on his putter and averaged 28 putts per round in his first three rounds at the difficult Canterbury Golf Club.

“I didn’t get off to a great start honestly, but I just hung in there,” said Jaeger. “I had good putts on Nos. 7 and 8 and finally made one on No. 9 that kind of got me going a little bit.”

Jaeger is looking to move up the Finals Money List after a missed cut in the first Finals event with rounds of 72-75. A top-four finish this week will secure his TOUR card for the 2018-19 season, but Jaeger is setting his sights on a different goal.

“I’m going to try to win the tournament,” said the 29-year-old. “If I’m going to try to win the tournament, that’s going to be my best chance to get into the top four. I’m not going to think to myself ‘I’m two back, but I’m two clear of top four.’ I’m not wired that way.”

The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga product earned his fourth Web.com Tour victory earlier this year at the Knoxville Open, where he overcame a two-shot deficit to win by three strokes. He became just the third person on Tour to capture a title in three-consecutive years.

In his PGA TOUR rookie season, Jaeger recorded three top-25 finishes and carded his best result at the Quicken Loans Nation with a T13. After finishing No. 165 in the FedExCup rankings, the 29-year-old came back to the Web.com Tour Finals in hopes of retaining his TOUR card for the 2018-19 season.