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Curtis Luck takes 54-hole lead at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship

Third-Round Leaderboard

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Curtis Luck carded a bogey-free, 3-under 68 on Saturday to take the 54-hole lead at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship at 11-under 202. Cameron Young sits alone in second, one stroke off the pace at 10-under 203.

Luck, who began the day one stroke clear of the field, tallied back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 to reach 10-under for the week. After pars on Nos. 8 and 9, Luck headed to the back nine at the top of a crowded leaderboard.

Luck stayed in control of the round carding six consecutive pars to begin the back nine. On the par-4 16^th, the Australian stuck his approach and drained his birdie putt to claim the solo-lead at 11-under. He closed his round with two pars to take the 54-hole lead into Sunday’s final round.

“I think that the strategy for me was limit the bogeys and I went bogey?free, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” Luck said. “I just tried to play really smart. Once again, like the first two days, if I was slightly out of position, just get it back in position as best I can and hit good shots to recover.”

Luck is making his 44^th Korn Ferry Tour start this week and fourth appearance at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. In 2018, the 24-year-old finished T5 in Ohio, matching his best finish on the Korn Ferry Tour. That season, he went on to earn his PGA TOUR card through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

“I’m yet to sort of remember having a bad round in the final round here,” Luck said of his experience at the Scarlet Course. “So yeah, no doubt in my mind it’s a huge advantage being here the fourth year and also putting in good results each and every year being back.”

Luck and Young played together in Saturday’s third round but it was far from the duo’s first time competing together. The two played junior golf growing up and competed against one another several times. In 2016, Luck defeated Young in the Round of 16 en route to winning the U.S. Amateur title.

The two will be paired together again during Sunday’s final round.

“I’ve known Cameron since I think I was 18 and we’ve always got along really well,” Luck said. “Out on Tour a couple weeks ago, I didn’t actually realize he was out here because I skipped Nebraska (Pinnacle Bank Championship), so it was great to see him here and playing good.”

Young began the day with five consecutive pars before carding his first birdie of the round at the par-3 fifth. After pars on Nos. 6-8, he went on to add another birdie on No. 9 to make the turn at 9-under. The 23-year-old tallied his third birdie of the round at the par-5 12^th but immediately gave the stroke back on No. 13. After a par on No. 14, he tallied his fourth birdie of the round on the par-4 15^th to reach 10-under for the week and claim solo-second.

Three weeks ago, Young made his Korn Ferry Tour debut at the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aeta and finished the week T11. A week later, the Wake Forest University product continued his strong play, finishing T14 at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz. Last week, Young played in the final group at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco and finished the week T6.

Now, Young will look to capture his first Korn Ferry Tour title as he plays in Sunday’s final group for the second week in a row.

“Yeah, it’s been exciting. Obviously, I had no idea I was going to be here a month ago,” Young said of his recent play. “It’s been a lot of fun. To see a lot of it firsthand and be a part of it and compete, especially to do well, has been a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Erik Barnes sits alone in third at 9-under 204. Will Zalatoris and Jimmy Stanger sit T4 at 8-under 205, three strokes off the lead.

Final-round tee times will run from 7:00 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. EDT on Sunday. The tournament will be broadcast live on Golf Channel from 2:30 – 5:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday.

SATURDAY NOTES:

* Saturday’s weather: Partly cloudy, with a high of 86. Wind S at 3-6 mph.

* This week’s purse is $1,000,000 with $180,000 going to the champion. The champion will also receive 600 Korn Ferry Tour points.

* This marks the first time that Curtis Luck has held the 54-hole lead on the Korn Ferry Tour.

* Luck and Cameron Young previously competed against one another in the Round of 16 at the 2016 U.S. Amateur. Luck would eventually go on to win the event contested at Oakland Hills Country Club.

* In his previous three starts at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, Luck has finished T7-T5-T19.

* Seven of the 16 54-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win this season. Stephan Jaeger won at last week’s Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco after holding the third-round lead.

* Cameron Young played in the final group at last week’s Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco and finished the week T6. Young is making his fourth career Korn Ferry Tour start this week.

* Will Zalatoris, who leads the Korn Ferry Tour points list, sits T4 at 8-under 205 after a third-round 66.

* Ryan McCormick (T6, -7) had the low round of the day posting a 6-under 65 on Saturday.

* In his first competitive event since his daughter Mia’s passing, Camilo Villegas sits T60 at 2-over 215 after three rounds.

* The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship serves as the third event of the four-event Korn Ferry Tour Championship Series, which includes elevated purses and points. Five exemptions into the 2020 U.S. Open are also available to the top-five players (not otherwise exempt) in a points list specific to the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance. The top-10 players on the Korn Ferry Tour’s overall point standings following the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship will also earn entry into the PGA TOUR’s additional events (also known as opposite-field events) during the 2020-21 season.

* The combined 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour schedule will conclude with 25 PGA TOUR cards awarded at the 2021 WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz, with an additional 25 cards awarded at the conclusion of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

* The par-4 second hole (472 yards) played as the hardest hole on Saturday with a scoring average of 4.187.

* The par-5 sixth hole (618 yards) played as the easiest hole on Saturday with a scoring average of 4.613.

*The Ohio State University Golf Club – Scarlet Course Scoring Average:

Front                 Back                   Total                           Cumulative                                

R1                       36.285               35.688               71.972

R2                       36.167               35.333               71.500               71.736

R3                       35.920               34.880               70.800               71.424

For highlights from today’s round, or any 2019 event visit http://bit.ly/kornferry2019video

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