Tim Widing leads after Round 3 at Veritex Bank Championship

Leaderboard

Things to Know

• Korn Ferry Tour winner Tim Widing closes out second-round 8-under 63 Saturday morning, follows it with 6-under 65 in the afternoon to take two-stroke lead through 54 holes
• Widing, who won last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic, is bidding to become the 13th player (14th occurrence) in Korn Ferry Tour history to win back-to-back events; he is also bidding to become the 17th player (18th occurrence) in Korn Ferry Tour history to win consecutive starts
• Frankie Capan III, who tied the Korn Ferry Tour record for lowest 18-hole score relative to par with a first-round 13-under 58, sits in solo second after back-to-back 4-under 67s
• Trent Phillips cards 4-under 67 and will join Widing and Capan in Sunday’s final group
• The 36-hole cut was made upon completion of the second round Saturday morning, and the cut was made at 7-under 135, tying Korn Ferry Tour records for the lowest 36-hole cut score (5-under 135/2023 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics; 7-under 135/2023 NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank; 6-under 135/2024 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard) and lowest 36-hole cut score relative to par (7-under/five previous times), as 82 professionals and one amateur advanced to the weekend
• Final-round tee times will run from 7 a.m. through 9:16 a.m. in groups of three off the first and 10th tees

Charting the leader

Tim Widing (1st/-23)

• Ties the third-lowest opening 54-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history, becoming the fifth player in Tour history to total 190 or lower through the first 54 holes (each of the previous four went on to win)

Lowest 54-hole score (opening rounds) in Korn Ferry Tour history

• Also ties the sixth-lowest 54-hole score across consecutive rounds in Korn Ferry Tour history, becoming the 10th player in Tour history to total 190 or lower across three consecutive rounds (most recent: Chan Kim/2023 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron/23-under 190/Rounds 2-4); the previous nine players to accomplish the feat all went on to win
• Bidding to become the 13th player (14th occurrence) in Korn Ferry Tour history to win back-to-back events; he is also bidding to become the 17th player (18th occurrence) in Korn Ferry Tour history to win consecutive starts (most recent to accomplish both: Chan Kim/2023 Magnit Championship, 2023 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron)
• Holds second career 54-hole lead (1st/2023 Compliance Solutions Championship/finished T4)
• Finished No. 46 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie, earning fully exempt status for 2024 season
• Played the 2022 season on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica (finished No. 33 on Order of Merit) and earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023 season via a T29 at Final Stage of 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry)
• Played five seasons at University of San Francisco (2016-21), where he won three times individually and earned four All-West Coast Conference First Team honors
• Represented Sweden at a number of amateur events, most notably the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy

Frankie Capan III (2nd/-21)

• Seeking first Korn Ferry Tour win in second season on Tour; he is bidding to become the ninth consecutive first-time winner to begin the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season
• Ties career-high 54-hole position (2nd/2023 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/finished 4th) in what in his 31st career start on the Korn Ferry Tour
• Totals 21-under 192 through 54 holes to eclipse his previous career-low 54-hole score of 20-under 193/2023 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS (62-64-67 in Rounds 2-4)
• In Thursday’s first round, carded 13-under 58 and tied the Korn Ferry Tour record for lowest 18-hole score relative to par, in addition to tying the second-lowest 18-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history, and recording the 13th sub-60 round in Korn Ferry Tour history
• Finished T30 at 2023 Veritex Bank Championship, his only previous appearance at the event
• Finished No. 51 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie last season, earning fully exempt status for the 2024 season
• Finished T8 at Final Stage of 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry); he was one of eight players who advanced through each stage of Q-School, beginning with pre-qualifying, in 2022
• Played two seasons at University of Alabama (2018-20) and two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University (2020-22), earning one victory and garnering All-Atlantic Sun Conference Second Team honors in 2021 and 2022 while at Florida Gulf Coast

Quotables

Tim Widing on his round… “Obviously a little tougher today with the wind to keep the ball in play. I was trying to just obviously still try to be aggressive, make birdies, just be a little smarter, be a little more mindful of my shots and really make sure I'm committed in the wind. Especially when it's swirling and changing a lot, it can get easy to change clubs or doubt your decision. I feel like I was very comfortable out there today, just tried to commit to every shot and executed pretty good.”

Trent Phillips on what he took away from his runner-up finish last season… “That was a weird one because… I played well all week, but I didn't really feel like I had a chance to win on the back nine until I made four (birdies) in a row. Boom, I was like right there at the lead, so I didn't really feel the pressures of trying to close out a golf tournament. I feel like tomorrow will be a little different with that. Yeah, that definitely shows you that you never give up. Those last four, five holes mean a lot on Sunday. Hopefully, they'll be good to me tomorrow.”

Additional Player Notes

• Trent Phillips (3rd/-20), who carded a career-low 10-under 61 in the first round, establishes a new career-high 54-hole position (previous: T5/2023 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH/finished P2)
• Griffin Wood (4th/-19), a 34-year-old open qualifier in his Korn Ferry Tour debut who held the outright 36-hole lead, cards 1-under 70 in the third round with one eagle (par-5 ninth), three birdies, and four bogeys; he had one bogey in his first two rounds and tied the second-lowest 36-hole score (any consecutive rounds) in Korn Ferry Tour history (18-under 124/Rounds 1 and
• PGA TOUR winner Brian Stuard (T5/-18), seeking his first Korn Ferry Tour win, shares the low round of the day (7-under 64) with Jack Maguire (T13/-15) and Mason Andersen (T13/-5); Stuard last stood T5 or higher through 54 holes of a Korn Ferry Tour event at the 2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship/T5/finished T14
• Hunter Eichhorn (T5/-18) cards a third consecutive round of 66 or better and stands T5; his only previous PGA TOUR-sanctioned start was at the 2023 Veritex Bank Championship (finished T60) as an open qualifier
• Arlington, Texas native, University of Texas-Arlington alum and conditional member Caleb Hicks (T44/-11), competing as a sponsor exemption, finishes second-round 6-under 65 Saturday morning to record first made cut in what is his second career start on the Korn Ferry Tour
• The cut was made at 7-under 135, tying Korn Ferry Tour records for the lowest 36-hole cut score (5-under 135/2023 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics; 7-under 135/2023 NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank; 6-under 135/2024 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard) and lowest 36-hole cut score relative to par (7-under/five previous times)

Lowest 36-hole cut score relative to par in Korn Ferry Tour history