Wilson Furr leads by one at AdventHealth Championship

Things to Know

Korn Ferry Tour rookie Wilson Furr set a tournament course record with a bogey-free 9-under 63 to earn his first lead of any kind in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned start

Second-year member John Augenstein recorded a 8-under 64 to clinch the best 18-hole position of his career

Making his 141st start on Tour, Brad Hopfinger sits inside the top three after 18 holes for the first time since 2019

Ten players are 6-under par or better after 18 holes, including three players who have won an event this season (Pierceson Coody, Spencer Levin and David Skinns)

Twelve players recorded bogey-free rounds Thursday at Blue Hills Country Club, which was the fourth-toughest course relative to par during the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season

First-Round Lead Notes

2: First-round leaders/co-leaders to win AdventHealth Championship

0: First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023

Wilson Furr (Leader / -9)

Clinched the first lead of his young Korn Ferry Tour career (making his 11th Tour start this week)

Rolled in nine birdies en route to a bogey-free 9-under 63, setting a new tournament course record

Tallied six birdies in a seven-hole stretch at Nos. 14-15, 17-18 and 1-2

Birdied two par 5s (Nos. 1, 18), six par 4s (2, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17) and one par 3 (No. 14)

His 9-under 63 topped the previous course record of 64 which was achieved by four players (John Augenstein R1/2023, Cameron Young R1/2021, Zach Wright R4/2021 and Will Cannon R4/2021)

Marks the second consecutive event where Furr set a new tournament course record after he shot a second-round 9-under 61 at the HomeTown Lenders Championship three weeks ago

Previous best position after any round was T4 after 36 holes at last month’s HomeTown Lenders Championship

In his second year on the Korn Ferry Tour, Furr has 10 starts on Tour (nine this year) and one top-25 finish which came at the aforementioned HomeTown Lenders Championship where he placed T7

A 24-year-old native of Jackson, Mississippi who now resides in Birmingham, Alabama, Furr is in his first season as a Korn Ferry Tour member

Earned membership and eight guaranteed starts to begin this season by placing T39 at last year’s Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament

Turned professional in 2021 after playing collegiately at the University of Alabama

Played four seasons with the Crimson Tide (2017-21), earning 2021 All-Southeastern Conference First Team recognition and helping the team to a runner-up finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships

Decorated amateur career includes representing the United States at the 2016 Junior Ryder Cup, as well as competing in four U.S. Amateur Championships (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020), with his best showing coming in 2020 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, where he earned stroke play medalist honors off the strength of a competitive-course-record 9-under 62 on Bandon Trails; two-time winner of the Mississippi State Amatuer, including the 2015 title when he was 16 years old, making him the youngest winner in the 100-year history of the event

Quotables

Wilson Furr on if he changed anything recently to improve his play… “Just maybe a little bit of a mindset shift. Feel like I got kicked in the face enough times to where I finally just kind of snapped into it. The last two weeks I've had my back up against the wall pretty good. So yeah, it's definitely been a little bit more focused and just a lot more feeling like kind of just keep going, don't try to ease into a round or whatever, birdie the first and birdie the second, so that's been kind of my mindset.”

Wilson Furr on increased focus in the last few events… “That's something I am good at. I do trust that I can do the shot, I can hit the shots. It's more just sometimes not getting ahead of myself and not compounding mistakes and getting mad. Like I said, this has just been – I've kind of had my back [against the wall] like I said – I had to play for some status and it brings out the best in me.”

John Augenstein on his first-round 8-under 64… “I was playing great, I knew I was playing well. I played good on my front nine – my back nine, which is the front. I didn't make a whole lot of birdies until kind of at the end, but there was nothing really different. I think the front plays a little harder than the back. I think you have to hit a couple more really tight tee shots and kind of get it in better position. I just kind of stayed patient and had a couple get close on the last few and made them.”

John Augenstein on controlling his emotions when playing well… “Today I did a good job. I'm not going to be perfect every time, but I think what I've realized is anytime I let an emotion or something slip in, it doesn't work, it doesn't do anything for me. I kind of just have a feeling of like to heck with it, let's play and let's keep looking at what we're doing next. Thinking about a shot or worrying about some tee shot or a putt or something like that, that's not going to help. Might as well try to kind of say the heck with it and play.”

Notes

John Augenstein (2nd / -8) carded a bogey-free 8-under 64 to mark a new career low round relative to par (previous best was a 7-under 64, achieved twice, most recently at the 2023 LECOM Suncoast Classic)

Birdied three pars 5s (Nos. 1, 13, 18), three par 4s (Nos. 7, 11, 17) and two par 3s (Nos. 8, 14)

Marks a new best 18-hole position, topping his previous best of T3 at the 2023 Astara Golf Championship

Entered the week No. 74 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List after just one top-25 finish (T7 at Astara Chile Classic) in nine starts; despite only one top-25 finish, he sat inside the top 10 after the first round in four events this season prior to this week

Brad Hopfinger (3rd / -6), making his fifth Korn Ferry Tour start of the season and 141st of his career, clinched his best 18-hole position since 2019 (T3 at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS); tallied seven birdies on his way to a bogey-free 7-under 65, tied for his lowest round of the season

Pierceson Coody (T4 / -6) carded a bogey-free 6-under 66 after tallying four birdies (Nos. 1, 3, 6, 7) along with one eagle at the par-5 13th; it marks his best 18-hole position in a Korn Ferry Tour start (previous best was T10 at last year’s The Ascedant presented by Blue)

Coody has top-15 finishes in each of his last three Korn Ferry Tour starts (T11 at HomeTown Lenders Championship, T8 at LECOM Suncoast Classic, T15 at Veritex Bank Championship) and entered the week No. 6 on the Points List

Nelson Ledesma (T4 / -6) rolled in seven birdies against just one bogey for a 6-under 66 to tie his second lowest round of the season (best round this season is a 65 in the first round of the Astara Chile Classic)

Brian Campbell (T4 / -6) began the first round 4-under thru four holes after starting par-birdie-eagle-birdie, which included a hole-in-one on the 192-yard par-3 12th; it marks the first time inside the top five after the first round since the 2021 BMW Charity Pro-Am (T5)

Spencer Levin (T4 / -6) tallied six birdies en route to a bogey-free 6-under 66, marking his fifth consecutive start with an opening round of 3-under par or better

David Skinns (T4 / -6), who is currently No. 3 on the Points List, sits inside the top 10 after the first round for the fourth time this season; he started the day with an eagle at the par-5 first and finished with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 16-18

Currently No. 3 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, Skinns has four top-10 finishes this season, including a T3 finish in his last start at the HomeTown Lenders Championship, as well as his victory at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in March

Making his 116th Korn Ferry Tour start, Jimmy Stanger (T4 / -6) is inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the 16th time of his career, including his 12th time sitting T5 or better; Stanger recorded a bogey-free 6-under 66 with birdies at Nos. 1, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 16

2013 AdventHealth Championship winner Jamie Lovemark (T19 / -4) carded a first-round 4-under 68 via five birdies and one bogey, while 2019 champion Michael Gellerman (T53 / -2) rolled in four birdies against two bogeys for a 2-under 70