RALEIGH, North Carolina – For the second consecutive week, 22-year-old Davis Thompson enters the final round atop the leaderboard. Following a 3-under 68 in the third round, Thompson reached 15-under par for the week and maintained his two-stroke lead over the field at the REX Hospital Open.

Thompson held a share of the 54-hole-lead at last week’s NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank, eventually finishing T5 for his second top-10 of the season.

“Tomorrow I will try to still have an aggressive mindset and try to shoot as low as I can,” Thompson said. “I don't want to be nervous. It's my job, so I'm excited about the challenge.”

The St. Simons Island, Georgia resident carded an even-par front nine, offsetting two bogeys (Nos. 2 and 8) with two birdies (Nos. 4 and 9). On the back nine, Thompson recorded back-to-back birdies at the par-3 12th and par-4 13th, and nearly holed out for eagle at the par-5 15th as he settled with for a tap-in birdie.

“Went after two flags that I shouldn't have and ended up making bogeys on both of those holes,” Thompson said of Nos. 2 and 8. “I just tried to play steady golf and give myself as many looks coming in after No. 8. I think I only missed one green after that hole.”

Saturday marks Thompson’s fifth consecutive round inside the top five, along with his fourth time atop the leaderboard for his rookie year. The University of Georgia alum previously shared the 18-hole lead at this year’s The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, held the outright 36-hole lead Friday, and shared the 54-hole lead at last week’s NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank.

“I don't know how comfortable you can be, because you know the reality of the situation,” Thompson said. “If you can just try to put one foot in front of the other and try to stay as present as you can and trick yourself into focusing on each shot… it usually leads to good things.”

A former No. 1-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Thompson played collegiately for four seasons at Georgia, where he earned All-America First Team honors his final two seasons and was named the 2020-21 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. Those accolades propelled Thompson to a No. 2 finish in the inaugural PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global Class of 2021.

By virtue of his PGA TOUR University finish, Thompson was exempt for Final Stage of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament last November. The top-40 and ties at Final Stage earned guaranteed starts for the first eight events of the 2022 season, and Thompson finished on the number (T39) for those starts.

“I remind myself a lot,” Thompson said of the putt at Final Stage which secured guaranteed starts. “I’m just grateful I'm out here. I needed to make like a 7‑foot par putt on No. 18 to get in on the number. I don't know where I [would be] if that putt didn’t go in, but I'm sure glad that it did.”

Final-round tee times will run from 6:40 a.m. through 12:40 p.m. local time off the first tee.