Ten Canadians will move on to the second stage of 2018 Web.com Tour qualifying school as play concluded Friday (Oct. 12.) at events taking place across the United States.

Kaleb Gorbahn of Smithers, B.C., finished runner up at 8-under, while Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., tied for 17th after finishing 2-under at the Dayton Valley, Nev., qualifying event, where the top 22 positions and tied advanced.

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In Pine Mountain, Ga., Joey Savoie of La Prairie, Que., advanced after tying for 14th at 10-under. The top 21 and ties qualified to move on to the next stage.

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Toronto’s Richard Lee finished ninth at 7-under and Robbie Greenwell of Georgetown, Ont., tied for 13th at 3-under at the San Diego qualifier, where the top 22 and ties moved on.

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Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Andrew Funk of Sidney, B.C., all finished in the top 21 and ties at the SunRiver Golf Club in St. George, Utah to advance.

du Toit finished 9th at 16-under. Another shot back was Pendrith, who tied for 10th. Funk tied for 20th at 9-under.

Click here to view the leaderboard.

Jamie Sadlowski of St. Paul, Alta., previously earned top spot at a qualifier in Maricopa, Ariz., with a score of 16-under. Vancouver’s Sean Harlingten finished 4th, one-shot back of top spot at -15. Ryan Williams, also of Vancouver, tied for 13th at -10. The top 21 and ties moved on.

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Second stage of 2018 Web.com Tour qualifying gets underway Oct. 30. Click here for the full schedule.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Florida – The 2018 Web.com Tour season came to a close on Sunday in Atlantic Beach, Florida, as the Web.com Tour Championship wrapped up the sixth-annual Web.com Tour Finals. University of Virginia alum Denny McCarthy won the season-ending event, where 25 players secured their PGA TOUR cards for the 2018-19 season.

The Web.com Tour awarded a first set of 25 PGA TOUR cards for the 2018-19 season at the conclusion of the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz in August, with a second set of 25 solidified at the conclusion of the Finals.

South Korea native Sungjae Im began his rookie season with a win at the season-opening The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. The 20-year-old backed up his win with a runner-up finish the following week, essentially locking up a spot in The 25 at the end of the Regular Season. Im continued his momentum throughout the year, winning the Regular Season-ending WinCo Foods Portland Open to end the year with two victories and six additional top-10 finishes. Im’s performance continued into the Finals, allowing him to win the combined money list. Im became the first player in Tour history to lead the money list wire-to-wire for the duration of the season and became the first Korean-born player to be named a money list winner.

McCarthy graduated from the Web.com Tour via the Web.com Tour Finals in 2017, picking up three top-20 finishes in the four-event series to earn his first PGA TOUR card. The 25-year-old struggled in his rookie season on TOUR, however, carding just one top-10 finish in 22 starts. The three-time Maryland Open winner found his stride in the 2018 Web.com Tour Finals, notching four top-13 finishes, capped off by a win Sunday in Atlantic Beach.

By virtue of winning their respective money titles, Im and McCarthy have earned fully-exempt status on the PGA TOUR next year, which includes a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, located just minutes from Atlantic Beach.

Meet The 50 newest @PGATOUR members, as they receive their 2018-19 TOUR cards @WebTourChamp. https://t.co/2gshI6PvHM

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) September 23, 2018

Jim Knous picked up the 25^th and final card with a par-save on the last. The Colorado School of Mines alum had a breakout sophomore season on Tour in 2018, picking up five top-25 finishes in the Regular Season to earn his first Web.com Tour Finals berth. Knous continued his strong play into the Finals, where he finished T10-T25-T24 in the first three events before eventually finishing at No. 25 on the Finals-only money list.

Finishing 26^th on the Finals money list Justin Lower, who earned $41,441 to finish $490 behind Knous. Lower had a career-best season on Tour in 2019, earning a Web.com Tour Finals berth for the first time in his career. The Malone University alum was on the bubble all week, but ultimately missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 72^nd hole at Atlantic Beach CC to come up just shy.

The 25 players from the Web.com Tour Finals money list will join the 25 players from the Regular Season money list on the PGA TOUR. The 25 from the Regular Season are below:

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Sepp Straka moved into position Saturday to earn a PGA Tour card in the Web.com Tour Championship, shooting a 7-under 64 to take the third-round lead.

With the top 25 earners in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals getting PGA Tour cards Sunday, Straka birdied the final three holes to reach 18-under 195 – a stroke ahead of Curtis Luck, Lucas Glover and Denny McCarthy at Atlantic Beach Country Club.

“It’s always good to get an extra birdie in late. I got three of them to finish, which was nice,” Straka said. “It’s very bunched up there, so you can’t really take off, you’ve got to keep the pedal down and see where you end up at the end.”

Straka entered the week tied for 80th in the card race with $2,744. The 25-year-old former Georgia player from Austria won the KC Golf Classic in August for his first Web.com Tour title. He finished 31st on the money list to advance to the four-tournament series.

“My ball-striking is really good,” Straka said. “It’s been good all week. It’s been really solid. I really haven’t gotten in a whole lot of trouble and have been able to capitalize on a good number of chances with the putter. Hit a couple of bad putts today, but some really good ones to make up for it.”

Luck also shot 64. The 22-year-old Australian went into the week 16th with $41,587.

“Obviously, it just comes down to keeping that momentum going and trying not to change anything,” Luck said. “That’s the really important thing and I felt like I did that really well. I played really aggressive on the back nine, still went after a lot of shots and I hit it close a lot out there.”

Glover had a 68. The 2009 U.S. Open champion entered the week 40th with $17,212.

McCarthy shot 67. He already has wrapped up a card, earning $75,793 in the first three events to get to 11th in the standings.

Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., also hit a 67 to stay in the chase, and sits in a three-way tie for sixth at 15 under. Fellow Canadian Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., who has already earned his PGA Tour card, hit a 66 to move into a tie for ninth at 14 under.

Roger Sloan of Calgary is the next best Canadian at 10 under, while David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is at 7 under.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Ryan Yip of Calgary missed the cut.

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 have placed in the top 200. The top-25 finishers on the Web.com regular-season money list are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals. The other players are fighting for the 25 cards based on series earnings.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Lucas Glover entered the Web.com Tour Finals with the likely safety net of a PGA TOUR medical extension but still in search of a victory and a guaranteed card for the 2018-19 season. The Greenville, South Carolina, native posted back-to-back rounds of 64 at the Web.com Tour Championship to reach 14-under par at host Atlantic Beach Country Club, good for a one-shot lead heading into Saturday’s third round of the Web.com Tour’s season-ending event.

Glover played brilliant golf over the opening 36 holes in Atlantic Beach, recording 14 birdies against zero bogeys to finish the halfway point at 14-under par.

After starting Friday’s second round in the afternoon wave, Glover parred his opening four holes before notching birdies on 14, 17 and 18 to turn in 3-under 33.

Birdies on Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 7 vaulted him into the lead at 14-under par before he closed with pars on Nos. 8 and 9 to round out a closing 31 and a second-round 64.

“Similar to yesterday, just gave myself a lot of chances and just converted a bunch of opportunities. Drove it a little better today and I’m hitting my irons a little worse, but same result, so pretty happy obviously,” he said after his round. “I hit a lot of good putts today that could have gone in, I just didn’t make the ones I made yesterday. So I felt like it could have been one of those scary low ones.  But I hit my lines, felt like I just misread a bunch by like half a ball or something, kind of like the last, but I’m not displeased at all, believe me.”

Glover has accrued 382 starts on the PGA TOUR, collecting wins at the 2005 Children’s Miracle Network Classic, 2009 U.S. Open and 2011 Wells Fargo Championship. The win in Charlotte, where he defeated 2017 Web.com Tour Championship winner and former Clemson teammate Jonathan Byrd, came 7 years, 4 months and 13 days ago.

In June, Glover had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair two meniscus tears that had bothered him for the last three to four years. Under a PGA TOUR medical, he was granted eight starts in the 2018-19 season to accrue 53.151 FedExCup points to retain his full membership status.

“Yeah, I mean, like I’ve got a lot to fall back on regardless of this week, but any time I tee it up, I want to play well.  Tomorrow won’t be any different, Sunday won’t be any different,” said Glover when asked if the medical allowed for less pressure this week.

This year marks Glover’s second time in the Web.com Tour Finals. In 2015, he posted top-25 finishes in all four events (including a T12 in the Web.com Tour Championship) to finish 19^th on the Finals-only money list to secure his card for the 2015-16 season.

Through the first three events of the 2018 Finals, he sits at No. 46 on the Finals-only money list with his lone top-25 being a T17 effort at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. With $44,000 as the safe benchmark for a PGA TOUR card, Glover needs to finish solo-10^th or better to secure a return to golf’s biggest stage.

“It’s good. It’s 36 holes, we’ve got 36 more. Nobody’s going to all of a sudden stop making a bunch of birdies, so I’ve got to do the same thing,” he said.

Canadian Ben Silverman shot a 3-under-par 68 to sit three shots back of the leader in a two-way tie for 4th place. Fellow countryman Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., holds a share of 11th at 9 under par – the Team Canada graduate has already earned his PGA TOUR card for 2019 via Web.com Tour money list.

Denny McCarthy, who graduated from the Web.com Tour in 2017, is one shot behind Glover at 13-under 129.

The former University of Virginia golfer opened his week with a 7-under 64 before recording seven birdies on Friday en route to a 6-under 65.

McCarthy finished the PGA TOUR season with conditional status for 2018-19 following a rookie campaign which left him at No. 149 in the FedExCup. The 25-year-old posted four top-25 finishes over the last year, including a season-best fourth-place effort at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.

In the Web.com Tour Finals, McCarthy recorded top-10 finishes in his first two starts to secure status for next year’s PGA TOUR season, entering the week in Northeast Florida at No. 13 in the Finals-only money list. With $75,792 in earnings, he is still within striking distance of wining the Finals money list, which would provide a fully-exempt card for the 2018-19 season as well as an exemption into THE PLAYERS.

“Yeah, 100 percent, I’m trying to get that spot. There’s no secret about it. I’ll come out and tell you I’m here to win this tournament and get that No. 1 spot,” said McCarthy. “I’ve been hungry for a while. I have a pretty hungry attitude and I’m going to stay hungry.”

Longtime PGA TOUR member Cameron Tringale is in solo-third place at 12-under 130 following rounds of 63-67.

Tringale is making just the 13^th Web.com Tour start of his career this week, as the former Georgia Tech standout has spent most of his career on the PGA TOUR. The 31-year-old has made at least 22 starts per season on TOUR since 2010, recording 50 top-25 finishes in 243 starts, including runner-up efforts at the 2014 NORTHERN TRUST, 2015 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Over the last two years, Tringale has found himself in the Web.com Tour Finals at season’s end following 133^rd– and 195^th-place finishes in the FedExCup in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Last year, Tringale entered Web.com Tour Championship week at No. 63 on the Finals money list but posted 17-under 267 in Atlantic Beach for a T5 effort which vaulted him to No. 24 and back on the PGA TOUR.

“Yeah, I was hoping last year was my last time here, but I do have a comfort at this golf course and I’m excited to keep pressing,” he said after Friday’s round.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Florida – England’s Chris Paisley used four starts on the 2017-18 PGA TOUR to earn a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals and inched one step closer to full status on golf’s biggest stage on Thursday at the Web.com Tour Championship. Paisley recorded eight birdies and one eagle on his way to a 10-under 61, good for a two-shot lead heading into Friday’s second round of the Web.com Tour’s season-ending event.

Paisley opened his week at host Atlantic Beach Country Club with three birdies in his first four holes before closing with a birdie on the 17^th and an eagle on the par-5 18^th (thanks to a holed bunker shot) to turn in 6-under 30 after starting on the back nine.

The 32-year-old’s momentum slowed mid-round with four pars on Nos. 1-4, but he rallied quickly thereafter with a birdie on the short par-3 fifth and back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to reach nine-under overall.

“I think just all around was really good. I hit it well off the tee, which gave me a lot of kind of short irons into the greens and opportunities to, you know, I had to knock it on the green in two on the par 5s or leave a good wedge number,” he said. “I hit a lot of really good iron shots close, and then a few other bonus kind of things happened where I holed the bunker shot on 18 and holed a long putt on No. 8. So, there was a couple little things like that that obviously helped a lot.”

Paisley, who won twice during his college golf career at the University of Tennessee, turned professional in 2009 and has since spent the majority of his time playing overseas on the European and Challenge Tours. Since 2015, he has competed mainly on the European Tour, earning third-place finishes in the 2015 BMW International Open, 2016 Italian Open and 2017 Made in Denmark.

Earlier this year, the Stocksfield, England, resident broke through for the biggest win of his career when he captured the BMW SA Open in South Africa with a three-shot victory over PGA TOUR winner Branden Grace. The biggest week of his career, however, may have come at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April, where he and fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood partnered in the team event to finish T4. The $216,900 paycheck, coupled with earnings from a T37 effort at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in March allowed Paisley to earn a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals via non-member FedExCup points.

“Well, I mean, the nice thing was I won early in the year in Europe. I’ve got the first two Final series events locked up, I think I’m in those. I’m not guaranteed to be in Dubai yet,” said Paisley when asked of his decision to play in the Finals. “But I just thought we have a house over here, my wife’s American, my goal is to try to get on the PGA TOUR, so it was a perfect opportunity to try and do it.”

Paisley missed the cut in each of the first three Finals events, which left him needing a strong week at the Web.com Tour Championship in order to achieve his PGA TOUR goal.

“In January I obviously played amazing and I was ‘Player of the Month’ in Europe and I went from 300th in the world to top 100 in the world and everything’s great,” he said. “Then all of a sudden about four or five months where I can’t make a cut and can’t seem to break par. It’s just a weird game.”

Paisley needs to finish in a two-way tie for fourth or better, in order to mathematically secure his card.

“I’m sure it’s a thing where you miss the first three, you don’t play very well and your expectations drop and you almost write it off, a bit like what I have. I was just trying to make a cut and get back to playing well again. So kind of putting that pressure on yourself and maybe it frees you up and you just have that really good week, hole a few putts, get a bit of confidence,” Paisley said. “It’s the nature of golf, I think. It’s a strange sport psychologically and hopefully I’m one of those guys that does that.”

Ben Silverman and Cameron Tringale are tied for second, two shots back of Paisley after matching rounds of 8-under 63.

Silverman, who played in the morning wave, was the outright leader for much of the day in Atlantic Beach, recording eight birdies against zero bogeys to set the early mark.

“I’ll make it easy,” quipped Silverman when asked to sum up his round. “I hit a lot of good shots and made some good putts. Actually, it could have been lower, but I’m not complaining. Missed a couple putts inside six feet, but I’m not complaining at all, it was a great round.”

From 2014 through 2016, Silverman competed on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, posting four top-10s in 26 events, including a career-best runner-up at The Syncrude Boreal Open Presented by AECON. He qualified for the Web.com Tour via Q-School in 2015 and again in 2016 after losing his card.

In 2017, Silverman bloomed late on the Web.com Tour, posting four consecutive top-10 finishes – including a win at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper – to finish No. 10 on the money list, securing one of 25 PGA TOUR cards awarded at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz, where he finished T2.

On the PGA TOUR, Silverman recorded two top-10 finishes in his first five starts to finish the fall season at No. 49 in the FedExCup, but struggled thereafter with just three top-25 finishes and a missed cut at the Wyndham Championship to wind up at No. 136. That standing guaranteed him conditional 126-150 status on TOUR next season, but put him in the Web.com Tour Finals with hopes on improving his standing.

“I have zero pressure on myself right now. I know I’m going to get some starts on TOUR next year anyway with my conditional status and I’m thinking more long term,” he said. “I like the strategy that I’m going with my game moving forward, so I’m just going to play and try to make some birdies, see what happens.”

Canada’s @Bsilvermangolf leads the @WebTourChamp after an opening-round 63 ???? pic.twitter.com/NzjnHsa3iO

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) September 20, 2018

After opening the Finals with a T58 finish at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, Silverman notched back-to-back missed cuts at the DAP Championship presented by NewBrick and the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco to dip to No. 103 on the Finals-only money list.

Tringale, who played in Thursday’s afternoon wave, turned in a modest 2-under 33 but played brilliant golf on the closing nine with birdies on 10, 11, 14, 15, 17 and 18 for a 6-under 30 and an opening 63.

“I really hit my irons well, I gave myself a lot of good birdie opportunities,” said Tringale. “I believe I just had look after look all day and really had a low stress round and was able to get some of those putts to go in.”

Tringale has accrued 243 PGA TOUR starts over his career, notching three runner-up finishes and over $9.8 million in earnings. After finishing 195^th in the FedExCup this past year, he was forced to return to the Web.com Tour Finals again in order to secure playing status for the 2018-19 season.

The former Georgia Tech star used a T5 at the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2017-18 season and feels good about his chances on an Atlantic Beach Country Club course that suits his eye.

“No doubt, I like the golf course,” he said. “To come back a year later and think, ‘Oh, I played well last year, I can do it again despite how I was playing coming in,’ it feels doable. I’m excited for the next three days and to see how I can hold up.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR today announced the 2019 Web.com Tour schedule, which features 27 tournaments played in 17 states and four countries outside the United States and culminates with the Web.com Tour Finals in August and September. The Finals will consist of three tournaments culminating with the Web.com Tour Championship, which will conclude on Labor Day.

“The Web.com Tour has enjoyed tremendous momentum in recent years and has created a platform from which graduates are enjoying immediate success on the PGA TOUR,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The revamped schedule will allow for a more natural cadence to the season for our fans, while providing an earlier finish that enhances the visibility of the Web.com Tour Finals.”

The Web.com Tour will welcome three new events to the 2019 calendar, with the Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, debuting the week of February 11-17 as the fifth of five consecutive events to open the season (a Web.com Tour record). The Evans Scholars Invitational will be held in suburban Chicago at The Glen Club the week of May 20-26, while The TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes in Berthoud, Colorado, will be conducted the week of July 8-14 at the newly-opened TPC Colorado.

The season-long chase for 50 available PGA TOUR cards encompasses a 24-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 KraftHeinz in August, before giving way to the seventh annual Web.com Tour Finals, which will consist of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship (Aug. 12-18), Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco (Aug. 19-25) and Web.com Tour Championship (Aug. 27-2). The Finals moving from four events to three mimics the PGA TOUR’s re-aligned FedExCup Playoffs, which will also feature three events in 2019.

“The 2019 Web.com Tour schedule is a result of the incredible support we receive from our title sponsors and tournament teams in their respective markets combined with the immediate and sustained success that our players are having on the PGA TOUR,” said Web.com Tour President Dan Glod. “We are excited to unveil a schedule that includes three new events as we continue to focus on growing the tournament experience for our fans and providing more playing opportunities for our membership.”

Ten events will air on Golf Channel, including all three Web.com Tour Finals tournaments. Tournament programming is distributed in 180 countries and territories across more than 320 million potential households, with 35+ channels carrying long-form and/or highlights coverage and live coverage distributed in 100+ countries and territories across 100 million potential households.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Corey Conners is playing in the Web.com Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship this weekend in hopes of grabbing his PGA Tour Card and it seems to be in reach. After recording another round in the 60s on Friday Conners heads into the weekend with a share of 12th at 5-under. The Listowel, Ont. native looks to finish strong this weekend to inch closer to securing his spot on the PGA Tour next year.

It was a windy Friday in Columbus, but not even the wind gusts could stop former PGA TOUR winner Robert Streb from making a statement in the Buckeye State, posting a second-round 3-under 68 to move to 9-under 133 heading into the weekend.

2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year Kramer Hickok sits one back of Streb, followed by a host of players tied at 7-under 135.

“(It feels) a little different,” Streb said of holding the 36-hole lead. “I haven’t done too much of it this year, but it’s nice to be playing well, putting well.  Hopefully, I can keep getting some chances this weekend and see how we do.”

Streb, who entered Friday one stroke back of the lead, ran into trouble early at The Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course. After picking up a bogey on his opening hole Thursday, Streb ran into the same fate on Friday, carding a five on the par-4 10th (his first hole of the day).

“I hit it way left,” he said when asked what led to the error. “I got a pretty good break and just basically guessed poorly on the green firmness.  I got through the green (on my approach shot), had a tough chip, and then hit a good one.”

The mistake ended up being the only one of the day for the Kansas State University alum, who kept his scorecard clean for the remainder of the round. Birdies on Nos. 12 and 18 allowed Streb to make the turn at 1-under 34 and join a collection of players who had become bunched atop the leaderboard.

After making par on the first three holes of his second nine, the father-of-three needed something big to build momentum and break away from the rest of the pack.

“That was nice,” Streb remarked after the round. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to cover the bunker or not.  It covered, I had a pretty good number, and luckily, it landed soft on the green and I had a good putt at it.”

The 2012 Mylan Classic champion would go on to par his remaining five holes, ending the day with a 68.

After finishing at No. 178 in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Standings this year, Streb looks to return to the PGA TOUR with a win this week and make up for a 2017-18 season that was full of struggles. The Oklahoma native made just 10 of 29 cuts, picking up a lone top-10 finish at the Barbasol Championship (T10), where he held a share of the 54-hole lead.

Unlike Streb, Hickok’s status for next season has already been determined.

After notching four top-10s, including a runner-up, in his rookie season, the 26-year-old ended the Regular Season at No. 23, earning his first PGA TOUR card at the conclusion of last week’s WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz.

“I feel like I’m really just freewheeling it out here this week,” Hickok commented after the first round. “I feel like there are a lot of guys that have a lot more pressure than I do, whether they’re trying to (regain) their PGA TOUR card or they’re trying to get to the PGA TOUR for the first time.  So my mentality is just way different.  I’m really relaxed and just got nothing to lose, so I’m just out there playing the best golf I can.”

That sense of freedom allowed Hickok to continue his strong play into Friday, picking up five birdies alongside two bogeys to finish the day at 3-under 68, moving to 8-under 134 for the tournament.

“It’s tough out there,” Hickok remarked. “You’ve got to be really patient. I hit the driver really well today, which allowed me to put myself in position to score, but even then you can still make a quick bogey.

“The whole game plan is just to limit the mistakes, and I feel if you limit the bogeys, you’ll be able to shoot some low rounds out here. It’s not about making birdies; it’s not a birdie fest, so just limit the mistakes as much as you can and it seems to be helping so far.”

CLYMER, N.Y. – Canadian Roger Sloan climbed back up 20 spots to sit tied for fourth after the third round of the LECOM Health Challenge at Peek’n Peak Resort.

With an impressive seven consecutive birdies on the back-nine, the Calgary, Alta., product fired an 8 under in the third round. Sloan will head into the final day tied for fourth with American Hank Lebioda, four strokes back of leader Sebastian Muñoz at 14-under-par 202.

After shooting a 3-under 69 on Friday to retain a share of the lead, the Colombia native remarked that he believed this was the week the lessons he’d learned this season would pay off. With another round in the books at Peek’n Peak Resort, it looks as if Muñoz might be right. The 26-year-old carded a 7-under 65 during the third round Saturday to move to 18-under 198 for the tournament, setting a tournament record for lowest 54-hole score and claiming the solo lead heading into Sunday. Nelson Ledesma and Kyle Jones sit one stroke back, tied for second.

The round began slowly for Muñoz, who carded five-consecutive pars and a bogey in his first six holes. The 2016 Country Club de Bogotá Championship winner remained calm and collected, however, not letting the slow start rattle him, despite a leaderboard that was quickly bunching up around him.

“I had a few looks that I could’ve made birdies on,” Muñoz remarked. “I didn’t make them and then made a bogey, so that’s always frustrating. You start to think that maybe it’s not your day, but I wasn’t negative at all. I just hit three great shots on No. 8 and then completely flipped the switch.”

Flipping the switch was indeed what Muñoz did. After hitting a strong drive off the tee, he was left with 289 yards to the pin. Despite initially being hesitant to play aggressive from his spot, Muñoz and his caddie decided to take a chance. The play ended up paying off for the University of North Texas alum, who landed his ball on the first cut of the green, about 15 feet from the hole. He would successfully make the putt, picking up an eagle in the process.

He continued to ride that momentum, picking up birdies on his next four holes. Confident in his play, Muñoz glanced up at a leaderboard for the first time on No. 15. When he noticed that he wasn’t leading, despite what he felt was great play, he realized he needed to keep pressing on the gas through his closing stretch.

“I noticed I wasn’t leading,” he said about looking up at the scores, “even though I was playing good and I was like, ‘wow.’ I think that helped me make birdie on Nos. 16 and 18.”

When Muñoz approached the green on No. 18, he shared the lead with Jones and Ledesma, who had already finished their rounds. As he looked around at the fans packed into the grandstands and bleachers and looked back at the putt he had remaining for birdie, he knew that was about to change.

“I kind of just pictured the line when I was walking the first time I saw it,” he commented when asked about the birdie putt. “I just thought, ‘I want to hit it right now.’ It was one of those that you just kind of instinctively know you’re going to make.”

Muñoz would card the birdie to move to 18-under 198 heading into Sunday, marking the ninth time this season that he has held a round lead/co-lead on Tour. Despite having been in contention early on in four different tournaments heading into this week, the Bogotá native had failed to carry any lead into Sunday. While his results have still been strong (a runner-up performance, a third-place, and six additional top-25s), victory has seemed to evade him each week.

“I feel like this year I’ve learned a lot,” Muñoz reflected. “I feel like I’ve grown as a player from last year, and even from [the beginning of] this year. It just keeps proving that work does pay off. I’m happy with the position I’m in and we’ll see [what happens tomorrow].”

While a victory Sunday in Western New York would secure his return to the PGA TOUR next season, the win would come with additional meaning for Muñoz, who is quickly becoming one of the main faces of professional golf in Colombia.

“Man, I love it,” Muñoz said about being able to represent his home country. “I just think it’s huge for golf in Colombia, trying to make it bigger, trying to make it more popular. I think the things it’s doing for the tournament in Bogotá and the sponsors – for me to be able to help a little is just great.”

MUNDELEIN, Ill. – Before heading to Ivanhoe Club, Chase Wright lost in a playoff to qualify for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. The disappointment didn’t linger, as the 28-year-old Wright found himself in another playoff Sunday afternoon, this time at the Rust-Oleum Championship. Wright, who was tied with Alex Prugh at 17-under 271 at the end of regulation, birdied the second playoff hole to earn his maiden Web.com Tour victory in his 83rd start.

“This is so much sweeter,” said Wright, who moved to No. 5 on the money list. “This week was way more important than going out there for one week. I want to be out there for 30 weeks.”

Prugh finished 17-under first after three birdies on the final five holes. The 33-year-old from Spokane, Washington missed a 15-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole to post 18-under. Wright, who was in the group right behind Prugh, made par on the final three holes to end regulation at 17-under as well.

“I just wanted to not beat myself,” said Wright, who two-putted the par-3 17th from 80 feet away to remain in a tie with Prugh. “As long as I hung in there and did my thing, I would be fine.”

Wright did just that on second extra hole, hitting a 7-iron from 170 yards to 5 feet from the cup. After Prugh missed his birdie bid, the Muncie, Indiana native all but secured his PGA TOUR card by knocking in his birdie try.

“I kind of calmly knew it was going to happen all day,” said Wright, who started the day two strokes off the lead. “Even in some hard moments when I hit some bad shots, I got it up-and-down and went about my business.”

Wright admitted he felt the pressure coming down the stretch. Each time he sensed the magnitude of the situation, the six-year pro remembered his friend, the late Dennis ‘Zink’ Zinkon, who played on the Web.com Tour in the early 1990s and assisted the Tour’s operations team in all facets. Zinkon passed away in 2016 with a pulmonary embolism, at the age of 55, but still lives on in the memory of everyone involved with the Web.com Tour, including Wright who regularly sought out ‘Zink’ for advice when he was struggling.

“I was actually thinking about him coming in,” said Wright, about his late friend. “He was definitely there with me today. He used to tell me, putting is pretty easy. Aim it, roll it, and repeat one and two if necessary.”

Wright’s journey to the Web.com Tour’s winner’s circle can be traced back to last summer when he competed on Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. After spending three years on Tour, Wright lost his card and went to Canada to try and earn it back. In 12 events, he posted six top-25s and won the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary. Wright ended the season No. 8 on the Order of Merit and regained his status on the Web.com Tour with a T42 at Final Stage of the Qualifying Tournament.

“Just getting back was one of my goals,” said Wright, about his return to the Web.com Tour in 2018. “It’s just great being around everyone again. I know the courses, and this means a lot. I’ve been in this spot a few times and faltered. To come through is awesome.”

After four years of competing on the Web.com Tour, Wright is now likely headed to the PGA TOUR later this year. Like those that have graduated before him, he believes his time on Tour has prepared him for success at the next level.

“Just to make the cut out here, you’ve played pretty well,” said Wright, who became the 11th first-time winner on Tour this season. “I think it’s the second-best (level of) competition in the world, and most people out here will tell you that.”

Ryan Yip from Calgary, Alta. finished T18 while fellow Canadian, Mike Weir, finished T56.