Evan Harmeling claims 54-hole lead at Savannah Golf Championship

SAVANNAH, Georgia – Evan Harmeling emerged from a crowded leaderboard on Saturday to take the 54-hole lead at 18-under 198 at the Savannah Golf Championship. Kevin Dougherty sits alone in second at 17-under 199.

Making his first start in Savannah, Harmeling carded a 5-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round. After pars on Nos. 1 and 2, the 32-year-old tallied his first birdie of the round the at par-5 third. He added his second birdie of the day on No. 5 to reach 15-under for the week.

On the back nine, Harmeling carded four birdies against one bogey to finish at 18-under through 54 holes, one stroke clear of Dougherty.

“It was a good day,” Harmeling said. “I thought I stayed focused out there pretty well. I was happy with the routine that I got myself into and having a birdie there at the last.”

Harmeling, a rookie on the Korn Ferry Tour, has made eight cuts in 16 starts this season. The Princeton University grad has recorded three top-25s this season highlighted by a T14 at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz.

“Starting with that Portland event, I got it together,” he said. “I finished with a really good eagle on the last hole, which is a sweet way to turn a mediocre result into a pretty good finish. That kind of helped me get into those Championship Series events too. That was really important to keep playing in Boise and Columbus.”

Harmeling began the season with conditional status after finishing T76 at the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament’s Final Stage last December. In 2019, he competed on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica making 12 cuts in 16 starts. Harmeling finished the 2019 season with four top-10s and a victory at the BMW Jamaica Classic.

“Anytime you play golf in competition, there’s levels of experience you get,” he said. “I’ve been in this position in other tournaments and it will be fun.”

Dougherty, who closed his third round with a birdie on the par-5 18th, sits alone in second at 17-under 199. The 29-year-old, who held a share of the 36-hole lead, entered the week 134th on the points list. Throughout his career, the Oklahoma State University product has had several close calls but is still in search of that elusive win.

“I’m very hungry,” Dougherty said of chasing his first title. “There are so many good guys out here it’s not easy to win. I’m just going to do the same thing I’ve done the last three days and put myself in position to have that chance.”

Eric Cole, Sangmoon Bae and Max Greyserman sit two strokes off the lead at 16-under 200.

Final-round tee times will run from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET on Sunday with players teeing off No. 1.