Mark Anderson takes outright 54-hole lead at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank

FARMINGTON, Utah – With a 7-under 64 in Saturday’s third round, two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Mark Anderson took the outright 54-hole lead at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank. Anderson holds a one-stroke lead over three players, two of which won earlier this season (Pierceson Coody and Harrison Endycott), and the third being 36-hole leader Pontus Nyholm.

The 36-year-old Anderson carded eight birdies and one bogey in his third round. Anderson opened with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 1 and 2, then added another at the par-4 fourth. The Beaufort, South Carolina resident posted back-to-back birdies at Nos. 6 and 7 and turned at 5-under par. A bogey at the par-4 16th was an afterthought, as Anderson made three birdies on the back nine (Nos. 13, 15 and 17) for the outright lead.

“It's been fun,” Anderson said. “I love coming out here. I've always enjoyed coming to Utah to play. Played really solid. Today was really nice to make a move and get in contention. It will be fun tomorrow.”

Making his 174nd career start on the Korn Ferry Tour this week, Anderson holds the fourth 54-hole lead of his career and second of the season. Anderson successfully converted two of his previous 54-hole leads into victories, winning the 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX and 2019 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard, winning both in runaway fashion. Earlier this season at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Club, however, Anderson carried a one-stroke lead into the final round and finished T2, one stroke behind eventual champion T.J. Vogel.

Anderson, who turned professional in 2010, also has 103 starts on the PGA TOUR. The University of South Carolina alum graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour via the regular season four times (2011, 2013, 2016, 2019).

The last two seasons on the PGA TOUR, Anderson finished outside the top 150 in the FedExCup Standings, relegating him to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2022 season. Anderson entered this week at No. 42 on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List, and a win Sunday afternoon at Oakridge Country Club would be enough for him to cross the #TOURBound threshold and once again secure a PGA TOUR card.

“Mentally and physically, really in a much better spot,” Anderson said in response to what has changed in his game since earning his first PGA TOUR card. “I feel really comfortable with my game. I have all year, so I'm just looking forward to the next few weeks and seeing what we can do with it.”

Final-round pairings will run from 8:40 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. off the first tee.