Three players share 18-hole lead at Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

WICHITA, Kansas – Tyson Alexander, Kevin Roy and Alex Chiarella share the 18-hole lead following 8-under 62 in Thursday’s opening round of the Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics. The trio of players finished one stroke shy of tying Crestview Country Club’s course record of 61, a number posted six times in its 21 years of hosting the tournament.

Alexander started the first round with a birdie on the par-4 10th and added two more birdies on the 12th and 14th as he turned at 3-under 32. The 33-year-old University of Florida alum rolled in five birdies on the front nine, including three across his final four holes (Nos. 2, 3, 6, 8, 9).

“(Nos. 6-9) are pretty tough holes, so that made me feel really good about the round,” Alexander said. “Last week, I looked at my scorecards and I just kind of tapered off on both back nines. Today, when I made the turn, I wanted to keep my foot on the gas a little bit.”

Alexander entered this week ranked 15th on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List via a win and two other top-10s. Two months ago, Alexander picked up his second career Korn Ferry Tour win at the Veritex Bank Championship and became the first player in history to successfully defend a title.

Alexander, who joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 following consecutive seasons on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, is making his 79th career start this week. Alexander’s 62 marked a career-low score, usurping his 7-under 63 from the 2019 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae, and Thursday marked his first 18-hole lead or co-lead on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Roy’s bogey-free round Thursday consisted of four birdies on each nine (Nos. 1-3, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14), and his 62 marked a career-low round as he eclipsed a pair of 8-under 63s, one of which he carded two weeks ago at the REX Hospital Open.

“With those kinds of rounds, everything's clicking,” Roy said. “Just got off to a hot start, birdied the first three. I really like this place, so I just tried to keep the gas pedal down and make as many as I can. I love the greens. I seem to roll some putts in here. My buddy and I have a pretty good slogan here: high draws win Wichita. My favorite shot is a little baby draw.”

Making his 68th start on the Korn Ferry Tour this week, Roy secured his first lead of any kind. Prior to Thursday, Roy’s highest position after any round was T3 through 36 holes of the 2022 AdventHealth Championship, and T3 through the first round of the 2020 Orange County National Championship presented by Knight 39 and the 2021 Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics. The 32-year-old New York native and Tampa, Florida resident finished T9 at this event last year for one of his six career top-10s, two of which came earlier this season.

Roy’s top-10s this season account for two of the three highest finishes of his career. In his first start of the season, Roy logged a career-high finish of T4 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club. Last month, Roy’s solo-sixth at the AdventHealth Championship marked the third-highest finish of his career.

Chiarella played in one of the last groups of the afternoon wave and surged up the leaderboard as he birdied his final six holes (Nos. 4-9). Chiarella also birdied the par-5 second and par-4 11th as he matched his career-low round, a 9-under 62 from this year’s Veritex Bank Championship, and secured his first lead or co-lead of any kind.

“That was a blast. I've never made more than six birdies in a row so I kind of wanted to keep it going, but we'll roll it into tomorrow,” Chiarella said. “On the back nine, I was hitting it pretty close to the hole. We had a bunch of 8- to 10-foot looks, and maybe like four or five in a row. I made that long one on No. 8, which was nice. That was a big curler, so that was a bonus.”

Making his 13th start of the season and 50th of his career, Chiarella entered the week ranked 95th on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List, with a season-high finish of T10 at The Panama Championship.

“I'd like a little more consistency in my game. That's something I strive for,” Chiarella said. “I feel like we're all good enough that any week can be our week and, out here, you need one really good week or a couple. Just keep your head down and keep grinding and, hopefully, the good times will come around.”

After playing collegiately at the University of San Diego, Chiarella turned professional in 2016 and played primarily on PGA TOUR Canada, where he picked up his first win in 2019 and earned Korn Ferry Tour membership ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Second-round tee times will from 6:55 a.m. through 2:15 p.m. local time off the first and 10th tees.