Sam Stevens leads heading into Sunday at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open

Third-round leaderboard

Things to know

• Sam Stevens cards a third-round 7-under 63 and claims a three-shot lead entering the final round.
• Stevens, a Wichita native and Crestview Country Club member, is bidding for his first ever Korn Ferry Tour title.
• Patrick Cover records a 5-under 65 and sits solo second, in search of his first career victory.
• 36-hole co-leader Taylor Dickson posts a third-round 68 and sits in a three-way T3 alongside 18-hole leader Brandon Crick and second-year member William Mouw.
• Kevin Roy and Kevin Velo both sit T6 after tying for the low round of the day with matching 8-under 62s.
• Final-round tee times will run from 6:30 a.m. through 11:35 a.m. local time off the first tee.

Third-round lead notes

16 – Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Wichita Open (most recently: Norman Xiong, 2022)

4 – Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2024 (most recently: Ryan Gerard, BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX)

Charting the leader

Sam Stevens (Leader/-18)

• Wichita native and Crestview Country Club member in his first ever start in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics
• Cards a third-round 7-under 63 via six birdies and one eagle against one bogey
  • Birdied four par 4s (Nos. 4, 7, 10, 16) and two par 3s (Nos. 5, 12) and eagled the par-5 second
  • Lone bogey of the day came at the par-3 17th
• Leads all players with 23 total birdies through three rounds (22 birdies, one eagle)
  • No other player in the field has more than 20 birdies this week
• Bidding for his first career Korn Ferry Tour victory and his second ever win in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned start
  • Lone victory came in 2021 on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica at the Colombia Classic
• Earns his second career 54-hole lead on the Korn Ferry Tour and his third in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned start
  • On the Korn Ferry Tour, held the outright 54-hole lead at the 2022 AdventHealth Championship but finished T7 after carding a final-round 5-over 77
  • Last year on the PGA TOUR, held a share of the 54-hole lead at the 2023 Corales Puntacana Championship and finished T3 for his first career top-10
• Sets career low 54-hole total score of 192 (previous best: 197/2024 Sony Open in Hawaii/finished T24)
• PGA TOUR member who is making his first Korn Ferry Tour start of the season
• Currently ranks 94th in the 2024 FedExCup Standings
  • In 17 starts on TOUR this year, has six top-25 finishes, including two top-10s (T4/Zurich Classic of New Orleans, T10/Myrtle Beach Classic)
• As a rookie on TOUR during the 2022-23 season, made 35 starts and tallied three top-10s, highlighted by a runner-up at the 2023 Valero Texas Open, and finished the season 65th in the FedExCup Standings
• Earned his first PGA TOUR card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, solidifying it with a T28 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and a T12 at the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance (finished 21st on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals Points List)
• In his only full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, made 23 total starts and logged 11 top-25 finishes
  • Best finish on the Korn Ferry Tour is a T7 at the 2022 AdventHealth Championship
• Originally earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time via a No. 2 finish on the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Order of Merit
• Six-time winner on the All Pro Tour
• Played collegiately at Oklahoma State University for four seasons (2014-18)
• Won the 2015 Kansas Amateur Championship and finished second in 2013, 2014 and 2017
  • Became the third generation of his family to win the Kansas Amateur, as his father, Charlie, won in 2010, and his grandfather, Johnny, won in 1960 and 1961

Quotables

Sam Stevens on treating this week differently than other events:“I definitely feel a little different than I normally would. My caddie and I have done a good job of kind of realizing that this is a great opportunity, and to come out and play in front of all the people out here that are local people is a lot of fun. I'm really not playing with a lot of pressure. I played well so far and don't feel like I have anything to prove, just get to go out and keep just trying to keep the pedal down.”

Stevens on if he feels any pressure to win in his home event:“I think I'll definitely be nervous. I never won when I was playing the Korn Ferry Tour in '22 and really only had a couple chances to win and didn't do that well honestly when I had chances to win. I definitely want to give it a good shot. I think I'm going to be playing with Patrick Cover and Brandon Crick, who are a couple of good buddies of mine. Hopefully they can play great, I would love to kind of have it be a battle, but I wouldn't mind if I got off to a hot start and kind of pulled away from the field. If I win it, it will be a really special thing that I'll look back on for a long time. We're a long ways from that, but I'm excited for tomorrow and hopefully it's a good day.”

Additional third-round notes

• Patrick Cover (second/-15) sits inside the top three entering the final round for the second time this season (held outright 54-hole lead at 2024 LECOM Suncoast Classic/finished T2).
  • Carded rounds of 64-66-65 this week to tie his career-low 54-hole total score of 195
  • Bidding for his first Korn Ferry Tour victory in his 60th start on the Tour
• Brandon Crick (T3/-14), who was the 18-hole solo leader after a first-round 62, cards a third-round 5-under 65 and sits inside the top-10 after 54 holes for the third time this season.
  • After beginning the season with three consecutive missed cuts, Crick has made the cut in all 10 starts since then and logged five top-25 finishes.
• In his second-year on the Korn Ferry Tour, William Mouw (T3/-14) sits T3 entering the final round and matches his career best 54-hole position (T3/2024 Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank/finished T5).
• Taylor Dickson (T3/-14), who entered the day with a tie for the lead, cards a 2-under 68 via two birdies and one eagle against two bogeys.
  • Currently No. 17 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, Dickson earned the first victory of his Korn Ferry Tour career earlier this season at the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank.
• Kevin Roy (T6/-13) and Kevin Velo (T6/-13) tie for the low round of the day with matching 8-under 62s.
  • Roy ties his career low of 62, which was originally set in the first round of the 2022 Wichita Open.
  • Velo sits inside the top 10 entering the final round for the fourth time this season and the third time in his last four starts.
• Davis Chatfield (T3/-11) opens the third round with four consecutive birdies and goes on to card a third-round 4-under 66.
  • In his second season on the Korn Ferry Tour, Chatfield is bidding for his second career top-10 finish (T8/2023 Albertsons Boise Open).
• Pontus Nyholm (T9/-12) sits inside the top-10 entering the final round for the second straight week (T8 after 54 holes at BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX) and the third time in his last four starts.