Norman Xiong claims outright 54-hole lead at the Visit Knoxville Open

Things to Know

Korn Ferry Tour winner Norman Xiong ties Chase Seiffert for the the low round of the day with 6-under 64, earns outright 54-hole lead

Xiong holds his second career 54-hole lead/co-lead in a Korn Ferry Tour event; he converted his previous 54-hole lead into a win at the 2022 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

18-hole co-leader and 36-hole leader Alejandro Tosti misses a 10-footer birdie on the par-5 18th and sits one stroke off the lead

Bidding for his sixth top-10 of the year and first career Korn Ferry Tour victory, Rico Hoey stands solo third and three strokes off the lead through 54 holes

Final round pairings will run from 7 a.m. through 1:10 p.m. off No. 1 tee

Third-Round Lead Notes

17: Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win Visit Knoxville Open

- Anders Alberston (2022), Robby Shelton (2019), Martin Piller (2014), Darron Stiles (2012), Kirk Triplett (2011), Chris Kirk (2010), Jarred Lyle (2008), Chez Reavie (2007), Hunter Haas (2006), Kim Felton (2005), Darron Stiles (2002), Heath Slocum (2001), J.J. Henry (2000), Jeff Gove (1999), Robin Freeman (1998), Eric Johnson (1996), Tim Conley (1993)

2: Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023

- Ben Silverman – The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club

- David Skinns – Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club

Norman Xiong (Leader / -12)

Earns his second 54-hole lead in his 40th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour with a 6-under 64 Saturday, will carry a one-stroke lead into the final round

Previous 54-hole lead on Tour was at the 2022 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics (led by one stroke through 54 holes, won by five strokes)

Prior to this week, his season-high 54-hole position in eight starts was T39/LECOM Suncoast Classic/finished T36

Cards seven birdies against one bogey (at the par-4 17th) in the third round, including five birdies in his last seven holes (Nos. 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18)

Has two bogeys through 54 holes, the fewest in the field this week · In 39 previous starts on Tour (eight this year), has five top-25 finishes, including a win as an open qualifier at last year’s Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

A 24-year-old native of Tamuning, Guam who resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, Xiong is in his third season as a Korn Ferry Tour member

Played a season and a half at Oregon (2017-18), earning 2017 National Freshman of the Year honors and the 2018 Jack Nicklaus and Fred Haskins Awards (two of the three collegiate national player of the year awards) off the strength of a six-win 2017-18 season, after which he turned professional at age 19

First earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2019 season with a T39 finish at Final Stage of the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament

Finished No. 166 on the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Points List in his rookie season, which left him without status

From the start of 2020 through June 2022, made just seven PGA TOUR-sanctioned starts; he Monday qualified into two PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events, missing the cut in all four starts, and briefly held status on PGA TOUR Canada, recording a top-10 in three starts in 2021

Notes

Rookie Alejandro Tosti (2nd / -11) cards 1-under 69 with three birdies (Nos. 4, 6, 8) against a double bogey at the par-4 sixth; he entered the week with five consecutive top-25 finishes highlighted by a career-high solo-fourth at last week’s AdventHealth Championship

Tosti also has three PGA TOUR starts in the 2022-23 season, with made cuts in all three events and a T10 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta

Tosti leads the field with 19 birdies through 54 holes; he has three more than any other player

Tosti establishes a new caeer-high 54-hole position, eclipsing his standing of T4 through 54 holes of last week’s AdventHealth Championship

Rico Hoey (3rd / -9), who stands No. 4 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, plays first three holes in 2-over par, rallies with back-to-back bridies on Nos. 4 and 5 and five additional birdies en route to 4-under 66

Hoey stands inside the top 10 through 54 holes for the seventh time, and stands third or higher through 54 holes for the third time (T3/Astara Chile Classic/finished T3; 3rd/AdventHealth Championship/finished T2)

Chase Seiffert (T4 / -8) enters the third round T56 and climbs into the top five with a bogey-free 6-under 64, tying Xiong for the low round of the day

Matt McCarty (T4 / - 8) sits inside the top 10 through 54 holes for the third time this season (T10/The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club/finished T3; T3/The Panama Championship/finished T6)

Roberto Díaz (T4 / -8) holds a season-high 54-hole position (previous: T15/The Panama Championship/finished T8)

Four players card bogey-free rounds Saturday: Seiffert (64), Alex Chiarella (T9 / -7 / 65), sponsor exemption and University of Tennessee alum Spencer Cross (T18 / -6 / 68), and Parker Coody (T40 / -4 / 68)