Cameron Young is in ideal position for his first PGA Tour victory after threatening to run away from the pack at the Wyndham Championship.
Young shot 5-under-par 65 in Saturday’s third round at Greensboro, N.C.
Young is at 20-under 190 for a five-stroke advantage on Colombia’s Nico Echavarria. Young has been a runner-up seven times since joining the tour in 2022.
Chris Kirk (67), Mac Meissner (70) and defending champion Aaron Rai (69) of England are tied for third at 12 under.
Young, who was at 15 under through the first two rounds with the 125 matching the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record, was tearing through Sedgefield Country Club. Through six holes of the third round, Young’s margin rose to eight strokes on a quintet that was trying to keep him in their sights.
But Echavarria, who shot 64, had birdies on four of the final seven holes to rise into contention. He saw a leaderboard during his round when he was in second place — but eight strokes behind Young.
“That’s not normal for a PGA Tour event,” Echavarria said. “He’s playing well. But there are still 18 more holes to go.”
Young had birdies on Nos. 3-6. Until the 15th hole Saturday, Young’s lone bogey in the tournament came on No. 1 (his 10th hole) of the first round Thursday. He later added two birdies.
Young, 28, played collegiately at nearby Wake Forest. He had three holes to finish in the second round Saturday morning before the third round.
Rai lost momentum he had in the second round when he came back to complete that round. Then in the third round, he was 2 over through 12 holes before three consecutive birdies put him back in the mix.
Amateur Jackson Koivun, a college golfer for Auburn, shot 65 and is alone in sixth place at 11 under.
“It’s just a lot of fun out here,” Koivun, 20, said. “At the end of the day, I feel I can come out here and compete. Always that learning curve (because) these guys are really good. I’m just happy to be out there with that later tee time and see what I can do.”
South Korea’s Sungae Im, after a pair of 64s and playing in the final group in the third round, dipped with a 73.
It was a long day at the course. Some golfers had as many as eight holes to complete in the second round, which was suspended Friday afternoon because of storms. Tom Kim withdrew rather than completing the second round.
The third round used threesomes, starting on the first and 10th tees.
The Wyndham Championship marks the last tournament on the PGA Tour’s regular season, so there will be crucial developments throughout Sunday’s round as golfers aim to secure spots in the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings in order to qualify for the postseason.
After Saturday’s third-round 70, Gary Woodland is right at No. 70 in the standings. He’s at 9 under for the tournament.
“I think I know I’m playing well,” Woodland said. “I can rely on that.”
There hasn’t been a golfer on the PGA Tour with a five-stroke lead or better through 54 fail to win since 2022. There were only 11 birdies on No. 18 in the third round, so golfers will want to make their moves as soon as possible Sunday.
–Field Level Media
