ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Five-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd shot a 7-under 64 in rainy, windy conditions Saturday to take the third-round lead in the Web.com Tour Championship.

Needing a high finish to regain his PGA Tour card, Byrd had a 20-under 193 total at Atlantic Beach Country Club for a two-stroke lead over Sam Saunders in the last of four Web.com Tour Finals events.

Byrd finished 55th on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list and 170th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings. He entered the week 66th in the race for 25 cards with $5,480.

“I was telling myself, ‘I’m a clutch putter and I’ve made a lot of clutch putts over the year,”’ Byrd said. “I just felt good out there,” the 41-year-old Byrd said. “I felt at ease. When you feel that way, you’re kind of letting it come to you, you’re not working hard to make putts. You’re just kind of letting it happen and that’s kind of the way I felt.”

Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, had a 70, two days after shooting a 59 on his home course. He was 129th in the FedEx Cup and began the week 24th with $27,900.

Saunders three-putted the par-5 18th for a bogey after closing with a double bogey Friday.

“That putt right there, it’s a bummer, but in the scheme of 18 holes it’s irrelevant,” Saunders said.“ There’s a lot of golf left and I played solid today. I missed a lot of really short putts, which is weird. I’ve been putting solid all week. I’ve just got to work that out and tomorrow not do it and I’ll be fine.”

Cameron Tringale was third at 17 under after a 65. He was 133rd in the FedEx Cup and 49th in the card race with $10,944.

Canada’s Ben Silverman, who has already locked up his PGA TOUR card by finishing inside regular season Top-25, sits tied for 8th at 14 under par.

The winner Sunday will get $180,000.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Sam Saunders followed his opening 12-under 59 with a 66 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend in the Web.com Tour Championship.

Arnold Palmer’s grandson, Saunders closed with a double bogey on his home Atlantic Beach Country Club course a day after shooting the seventh sub-60 round in Web.com Tour history.

“It’s the fact that you start feeling disappointed with pars,” Saunders said. “You make good pars on holes that you know are pars, and you have to tell yourself you’re fine. It feels like you’re playing so bad compared to yesterday. I parred the first three holes today and I felt like, ‘OK, I’m still playing good golf. It’s not time to panic.”’

Saunders is trying to regain his PGA Tour card in the four-event Web .com Tour Finals after finishing 129th in the FedEx Cup standings. He entered the week 24th in the race for 25 PGA Tour cards with $27,900 – the winner Sunday will get $180,000 – in the first three events.

On the par-5 18th, he blocked his second shot right of the green, and hit third into a plugged lie in a greenside bunker. He needed two shots to get out of the bunker and missed a 10-foot bogey putt.

“I’m not going to let making a bogey out there, or a couple of loose shots that got away (bother me),” Saunders said. “That happens. Golf is hard. You can’t shoot 59 and expect to shoot 62. … What’s important is the final score after two days, and I would have taken that my whole life.”

Argentina’s Julian Etulain was second at 15 under after a 63. He was 46th in the money chase with $11,348 after finishing 161st in the FedEx Cup standings.

Bronson Burgoon (63), Jonathan Byrd (65) and Roberto Castro (64) were four strokes back at 13 under. Steve Wheatcroft, like Saunders an Atlantic Beach member, had a 68 to top the group at 12 under.

Burgoon, in the series field on a special medical extension, entered the week 15th with $42,812 – enough to secure a card. Byrd and Castro need strong finishes to regain their cards. Castro, 172nd in the FedEx Cup, is 54th at $8,526. Byrd, 170th in FedEx Cup, is 66th at $5,480.

Wheatcroft is 23rd with $29,025 after finishing 179th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Hunter Mahan missed the cut by a stroke with rounds of 70 and 68, costing the six-time PGA Tour winner a chance to regain his card in the series. He entered the week 33rd with $21,320 after finishing 182nd in the FedEx Cup standings.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, shot a 12-under 59 on his home course Thursday in the first round of the Web.com Tour Championship.

Saunders birdied his final six holes at Atlantic Beach Country Club – the Jacksonville-area club where he became a member this year – for the seventh sub-60 round in Web.com Tour history.

With wife Kelly and 8-year-old son Cohen looking on, Saunders made an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth and closed with a 10-footer on the par-4 ninth.

“It was dead centre. I saw it going in from a few feet out,” he said about the final putt.

Stephan Jaeger set the tour record of 58 last year in the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, California, and Notah Begay III, Doug Dunakey, Jason Gore, Will Wilcox and Russell Knox also shot 59.

“Honestly, I was excited because my wife and my son, Cohen, who is really getting into golf, got to watch,” Saunders said. “He’s only watched me play three full rounds of golf probably. He’s watched me fail in golf a lot, which is good, that’s a good lesson for him. For my wife, Kelly, to be there; she’s watched the ups and downs of this whole deal. I’m really glad that they got to be out there and watch me do that.”

Saunders had 13 birdies and a bogey. Opening on No. 10, he birdied the first three holes and added a birdie on 14. He bogeyed the par-3 15th, taking two shots to get out of a bunker, and birdied 15 and 18 to make the turn in 5 under. He birdied No. 2 and Nos. 4-9 for a 7-under 28 on his final nine.

On the par-3 fifth, the 30-year-old former Clemson player holed a 40-footer from well over the green with a shaved bank and pond looming beyond the hole.

“You’re dead. You’ve got no shot there,” Saunders said. “I putted it up the hill and it was going Mach 1, it would’ve been 30 feet past the hole and it hit dead centre.”I was just hoping for it to hit the pin. When I saw it was about 2 feet away, my heart rate went down thinking I was at least going to hit the pin. Then it when it went in I was embarrassed because it was a horrible shot, but you need to get some luck sometimes.“

Saunders is trying to regain his PGA Tour card in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals after finishing 129th in the FedEx Cup standings. He entered the week 24th in the race for 25 PGA Tour cards with $27,900 in the first three events. He tied for 11th in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, tied for 40th in the Albertsons Boise Open and missed the cut in the DAP Championship.

“I’ve been pretty tired in these Web.com Tour Finals, so it was nice to get home and get some rest and not over-practice coming in,” Saunders said. “But, on Tuesday I had a really good warm-up session and was able to figure things out. It comes back to putting, and I made everything today. That’s how you go low.”

Saunders was paired with fellow Atlantic Beach member Steve Wheatcroft, who had a 62 for a share of second place with Matt Atkins.

“It was a good time out there and it was a real special day, certainly memorable. I played with my buddy Steve Wheatcroft and we kind of fed off each other,” Saunders said. “Honestly, it just felt like a regular day at home playing our little money game and I got into a good rhythm. It was a blast.”

Wheatcroft entered the week 23rd with $29,025 after finishing 179th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Tyler Duncan and Canadian Ben Silverman shot 63.

Duncan came into the tournament 13th with $43,158, more than enough to secure a card. Atkins and Silverman have already earned PGA Tour cards as top-25 finishers on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list. They are trying to improve their status.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR today announced the 2018 Web.com Tour schedule, which features 27 tournaments played in 18 states and four countries outside the United States, and culminates with the four-event Web.com Tour Finals in August and September. The 27 events mark the most on the Web.com Tour calendar since 2012, with the $18.3 million in total prize money representing the most since the Tour’s 2010 season.

“We are thrilled with the positive momentum the Web.com Tour has established, and today’s schedule announcement is another indication of the further growth and strength of the Web.com Tour,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The players benefit greatly from these increased playing opportunities and arrive on the PGA TOUR ready to compete and win immediately.”

The season-long chase for 50 available PGA TOUR cards encompasses a 23-event Regular Season that runs from The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay in January through the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz in August, before giving way to the sixth annual Web.com Tour Finals, which will culminate with the season-ending Web.com Tour Championship in Atlantic Beach, Fla.

Twelve events will air on Golf Channel, including all four Web.com Tour Finals tournaments. The Web.com Tour will be seen in 180 other countries and territories, reaching a potential 300 million households across 36 channels outside the United States via the PGA TOUR’s international broadcasting operation.

“The momentum we’re seeing on the Web.com Tour is a direct result of the support from our title sponsors, the tireless effort put forth by our tournament directors and their staffs, and the passionate volunteers who donate time to make each event special and impactful,” said Web.com Tour President Dan Glod. “You combine that with the unique experience our players provide for fans by being approachable and engaging – on and off the golf course – and you can see why we are excited about the Web.com Tour’s future. As we look to 2018, we are pleased to see our schedule expand and will continue to focus on growth while enhancing the experience for fans, sponsors and players.”

The first five years of the Web.com Tour Finals have created a dramatic conclusion to the season-long chase for the 50 available PGA TOUR cards, with a host of the graduates finding immediate success on TOUR.

The 2016-17 PGA TOUR season saw Cody Gribble (Sanderson Farms Championship), Rod Pampling (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) and Mackenzie Hughes (The RSM Classic) win in the first seven events of the year, while Emiliano Grillo (Safeway Open), Smylie Kaufman (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) and Peter Malnati (Sanderson Farms Championship) earned three of the first four titles of the 2015-16 season after competing in the Web.com Tour Finals.

In total, nine graduates from the Web.com Tour’s Class of 2016 won 10 times on the PGA TOUR this past year, including Xander Schauffele, who earned his first title at the Greenbrier Classic and played his way into last week’s TOUR Championship in Atlanta, where he became the first rookie in history to win the TOUR’s season-ending event at storied East Lake Golf Club.

“The growth of the Web.com Tour and the caliber of its talent show that the PGA TOUR and Web.com are creating future opportunities where players can realize their full potential,” said David L. Brown, Chairman, CEO and President of Web.com. “The changes we are announcing will only improve the level of play while making meaningful contributions to local communities that reach far beyond golf.”

The 2018 season will open with the Web.com Tour returning to The Bahamas for the second annual Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay (1/13-1/16) and Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club (1/21-1/24). The Exuma Classic will feature a Saturday-Tuesday competition schedule, while the Abaco Classic will feature a Sunday-Wednesday format. All four rounds of each tournament will be carried live on Golf Channel.

For the first time in Web.com Tour history, the season will open with events in four consecutive weeks, as the tournaments in The Bahamas will be followed by the Panama Championship the week of January 29-February 4 and the Club Colombia Championship the week of February 5-11.

The El Bosque Mexico Championship in Leon, Mexico will be held on March 5-11, while the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by NACHER will return to Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club in Broussard, La., for a 27^th consecutive season the week of March 19-25.

The Web.com Tour will welcome two new events to the calendar in 2018, with the Savannah Golf Championship set for the week of March 26-April 1, and the North Mississippi Classic debuting the week of April 16-22. The Savannah Golf Championship will be contested at Deer Creek Golf Course at The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga., while the North Mississippi Classic will be held at the Country Club of Oxford in Oxford, Miss.

The North Mississippi Classic will be the third PGA TOUR-sanctioned event to be held annually in Mississippi, joining the PGA TOUR’s Sanderson Farms Championship and the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on PGA TOUR Champions. Mississippi is one of just five states to host an annual tournament on all three Tours, with California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina being the other four.

The United Leasing & Finance Championship, held annually at famed Victoria National Golf Club near Evansville, Ind., will round out the Tour’s April schedule the week of April 23-29.

Two of the biggest moves in the Tour’s traditional schedule layout are found in May, with the Knoxville Open in Knoxville, Tenn., moving from its traditional August date to the week of May 7-13. The Tour will return with the 27^th annual BMW Charity Pro-Am (May 14-20) in the South Carolina Upstate the following week, with the Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation moving back approximately one month to the week of May 21-27.

Beginning with the Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh, N.C. the week of May 28-June 3, the Web.com Tour will play 11 tournaments in 12 weeks through the summer months to round out the Regular Season. Tournaments featured during that stretch include:

• June 4-10          Rust-Oleum Championship
• June 18-24        Air Capital Classic Supporting Wichita’s Youth
• June 25-1          Lincoln Land Charity Championship
• July 2-8             LECOM Health Challenge
• July 9-15           Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank
• July 16-22         Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Heartland Chevy Dealers
• July 23-29         Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper
• July 30-5           Digital Ally Open
• August 6-12      Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae
• August 13-19    WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz

The WinCo Foods Portland Open will return to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near Portland, Ore., for a fifth straight year, where the first 25 PGA TOUR cards for the 2018-19 season will be determined.

The 2018 Web.com Tour Finals will begin the following week with back-to-back events in Ohio for the first time. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship will be held at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course in Columbus on August 20-26, with the DAP Championship at storied Canterbury Golf Club set for the week of August 27-September 2 just two hours northeast in Beachwood.

Following a week off, the Finals will conclude with the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco (Sept. 10-16) and the Web.com Tour Championship, which will return to Atlantic Beach Country Club in Atlantic Beach, Fla. the week of September 17-23.

The season-ending Web.com Tour Championship will finalize the second set of 25 PGA TOUR cards for 2018-19 and determine player positioning in the priority ranking system, which is used to form fields for TOUR events, for all 50 card recipients.

For more information on the 2018 Web.com Tour season, please visit PGATOUR.com.

The season-ending Web.com Tour Championship – the fourth and final event in the annual Web.com Tour Finals – gets underway at Atlantic Beach (Fla.) Country Club this week as one of the year’s strongest fields will compete for a $1 million purse and one of 25 PGA TOUR cards on the line.

Since 2013, the Web.com Tour has awarded 50 PGA TOUR cards annually, with the top 25 players on the Regular-Season-ending money list earning theirs following the conclusion of the WinCo Foods Portland Open in August, and the additional 25 coming via the Web.com Tour Finals – which combine Nos. 1-75 on the Web.com Tour money list and Nos. 126-200 on the TOUR’s FedExCup points list.

The field at Atlantic Beach is littered with many familiar PGA TOUR names, including two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, nine-time TOUR winner Stuart Appleby, six-time TOUR winner Hunter Mahan and five-time TOUR winners Ben Crane and Jonathan Byrd.

Among those on the cusp of the 25th and final spot is Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., who currently sits at No. 27 on the Web.com Finals-only list:

Players who have already secured their PGA TOUR cards through the Regular Season and the Finals—including Canadians Ben Silverman, Corey Conners and Adam Svensson—are vying for positioning and status for the 2017-18 season, which will be used to fill fields. accordingly.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Nicholas Lindheim made a downhill, 35-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole after bogeying the final two holes in regulation and won the DAP Championship on Sunday to regain his PGA Tour card.

Lindheim, who lost in a playoff in this Web.com Tour Finals event last year, hit every green in regulation on the front nine and held the lead from the third hole on. But he missed his tee shot well left on the par-4 18th at Canterbury Golf Club, punched out and failed to get up and down. He shot a 1-over 71 to join Rob Oppenheim (67) and Chesson Hadley (69) in the playoff.

Given a fresh start, the 32-year-old self-taught player quickly capitalized.

“I think last year I was just content being in the playoff,” Lindheim said. “It was destiny. That’s all I can say.”

The event was the third of four tournaments that determine 25 PGA Tour cards. The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and non-members with enough money to place in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup had they been eligible.

As usual, much of the drama came further down the leaderboard as players scrambled to secure their cards.

The other players to guarantee themselves PGA TOUR privileges were Canada’s Corey Conners, Keith Mitchell, Troy Merritt, Martin Piller, Brett Stegmaier, Denny McCarthy, Bronson Burgoon and Joel Dahmen.

Conners, a Team Canada Young Pro Squad member, has finished in the top-30 in each of the first three Finals events to secure one of the 25 TOUR cards given away during the Finals.

“Yeah, it feels good. Still got some work to do, try and have another good week next week and see what happens, but yeah, it’s a nice feeling to have a good chance,” Conners said. “Yeah, really good friends with Mac,” said Conners of fellow countryman and former Kent State teammate—Mackenzie Hughes. “I’m sure he’s following along today and cheering me on.”

Conners joins fellow Canadian Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., who currently sits at No. 17 on the Web.com Tour finals heading into next week’s final event. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., is just outside the number right now at No. 27.

Click here for live projected standings.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Peter Uihlein won the Web.com Tour Finals-opening Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on Sunday to earn a PGA Tour card.

Uihlein closed with a 6-under 65 on Ohio State’s Scarlet Course to beat former Buckeyes player Ryan Armour by a stroke.

Uihlein earned $180,000 to wrap up a PGA Tour card as a top-25 finisher in the four-event series. The 28-year-old former Oklahoma State player from Massachusetts has played four seasons on the European Tour, winning the 2013 Madeira Islands Open. He entered the week 12th in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai.

“There’s so many good events now in Europe,” Uihlein said. “It’s really tough. I got to sit down and look at both schedules. I just don’t know. I don’t know next year’s schedule in Europe. I haven’t looked at the PGA Tour schedule. Right now, I don’t know where I’m going to be playing, but I’m going to try and do both and see what happens.”

Uihlein finished at 14-under 270.

“This is a proper test,” Uihlein said. “You got to drive the ball well. You got to hit your irons well. And it’s a shame that it rained because that first day was phenomenal for how fast the greens were, how difficult it was. It changed your mindset a little bit, you need to make some birdies. But it’s not a walk in the park.”

The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings – Armour was 159th – along with Uihlein and other non-members with enough PGA Tour money to have placed in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup had they been eligible.

The top-25 finishers on the Web.com regular-season money list have earned PGA Tour cards. They are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals. The other players are fighting for 25 cards based on series earnings.

Armour finished with a 70. He earned $108,000, more than enough to regain his PGA Tour card.

“Mission accomplished,” Armour said. “The job was to get back to the tour, and that’s what happened. I already have a start in Napa, So, that is something that you can take as a positive, and old Scarlet here, I mean she’s tough, and I finally got a little piece of her. But the old girl is a really hard golf course.”

Andrew Landry (68) and Tom Lovelady (70) tied for third at 11 under and each made $58,000. Landry already has a PGA Tour card through the Web.com money list, while Lovelady was 29th in the regular season.

Five-time PGA Tour winner Ben Crane tied for sixth at 9 under after a 68. Six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan also shot 68 to tie for 13th at 5 under. Crane, 147th in the FedEx Cup standings, made $34,750, and Mahan, 182nd in the FedEx Cup standings, earned $18,750.

Canadian Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finished as the top Canadian at 5 under par to close with a share of 13th.

Four Canadians will be in the field this week at the first Web.com Tour Finals event the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Charity Championship at Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course in Arlington, Ohio.

Leading the way with his PGA TOUR card already locked up is Thornhill, Ont., native Ben Silverman.

Silverman is playing the best golf of his professional career with four top-10s in his last four starts – including his first career Web.com Tour win at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper.

He finished the regular season No. 10 on the Web.com Tour Money List securing one of 25 cards available in the regular season and will be jockeying for priority on the PGA TOUR card list during the Finals.

Joining Silverman in Ohio are fellow Canadians Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.), and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.).

The three will battle for the 25 additional PGA TOUR cards available to the top-25 finishers on the separate Web.com Tour Finals money list.

Conners – a member of the Team Canada Young Pro Squad – finished the regular season ranked No. 49 on the Web.com Tour money list.

He had three top-10s this season including a career best T5 finish at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay.

The 25-year-old is looking to secure PGA TOUR status for the first time in his career since turning pro in 2015. He will do so in familiar territory this week having played the Scarlet Course several times during his college career with Kent State University.

Sloan, 30, slotted in just behind Conners on the money list during the regular season finishing at No. 53 and like Conners he had three top-10 finishes.

He had a PGA TOUR card in 2015 after finishing in the top-25 on the Web.com Tour regular season money list.

Svensson was No. 66 on the regular season money list. He had two top-10 finishes this season, his best result coming at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship where he was tied for sixth.

Both Svensson and Sloan reached the Finals last year but failed to secure their PGA TOUR card finishing at No. 75 and 76 respectively on the Finals money list.

The ordering of all 50 players after the Web.com Tour Finals will be done on an alternating basis, with the top position going to the No. 1 player from the combined Regular Season and Finals money list and the second position going to the leading money winner from the four Web.com Tour Finals.

The sequence then alternates between the combined Regular Season and Finals money list.

Click here for more information on the Web.com Tour Finals.

Thornhill, Ont., native Ben Silverman fired a 5-under-par 66 in the final round of the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft Heinz to finish tied for second at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oreg., and secure his PGA TOUR card for the 2017-18 season.

Silverman had four birdies, an eagle and just one bogey in the final round to move to 14 under par for the tournament and finish four strokes back of winner Brice Garnett (Gallatin, Mo.).

Fellow Canadian Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., carded a 4-under-par 67 in the final round to finish T19.

With his second place finish in the final event of the Web.com Tour regular season Silverman moves into tenth on the Web.com Tour money list and secures one of the 25 PGA TOUR cards available to the top-25 finishers on the regular season money list.

His second place finish is his fourth straight top-10 result, a stretch that includes his first career win on the Web.com Tour at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper.

Canadian Ben Silverman is just one shot back on the @WebDotComTour. Looking for win No.2 on the season (and second in three weeks)

— Adam Stanley (@adam_stanley) August 27, 2017

Silverman’s next step is to carry some of his recent momentum into the Web.com Tour Finals which begin next week at the Nationwide Charity Championship.

The field for the Web.com Tour Finals will be comprised of the top-75 on the Web.com Tour Order of Merit, PGA TOUR members who are 126-200 on the FedExCup points list following the Wyndham Championship, and non-members who would have earned enough FedExCup points to place them 126-200 on the official FedExCup points list.

An additional 25 PGA TOUR cards are up for grabs in Web.com Tour Finals and a separate money list is started to determine the players who receive them.

While Silverman has secured his PGA TOUR card the priority of that card will be determined by his play in the four Finals events.

The ordering of all 50 players after the Web.com Tour Finals will be done on an alternating basis, with the top position going to the No. 1 player from the combined Regular Season and Finals money list and the second position going to the leading money winner from the four Web.com Tour Finals. The sequence then alternates between the combined Regular Season and Finals money list.

Click here to view the full WinCo Food Portland Open presented by Kraft Heinz leaderboard.

Click here for more information on the Web.com Tour Finals.