Paul Barjon claims outright 54-hole lead at Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS

Things to Know

Paul Barjon cards a bogey-free 5-under 66 and clinches the second outright 54-hole lead of his career

Korn Ferry Tour rookie Frankie Capan III posts his second consecutive bogey-free round with a third-round 64

Nelson Ledesma sits two shots off the lead after three rounds, seeking his third Korn Ferry Tour win

Patrick Cover and Tom Whitney record matching 8-under 63s, tied for the low rounds of the day

Final-round groupings will run from 8 a.m. through 10 a.m. local time off the first and 10th tees

Third-Round Lead Notes

2: Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS

- Paul Haley II (2020) and Xinjun Zhang (2019)

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)

Paul Barjon (Leader/-20)

Clinched the third lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career

- Solo leader at 2021 HomeTown Lenders Championship (won in a three-man playoff)

- T1 at 2020 WinCo Foods Portland Open (finished T2)

Entered the day with a share of the 36-hole lead alongside Martin Contini

Carded a bogey-free 5-under 66 with birdies at three par 5s (Nos. 6, 13, 16) and two par 4s (Nos. 9, 15)

Second-round 9-under 62 tied his career low round after tallying eight birdies, one eagle and one bogey

First-round 65 consisted of seven birdies and one bogey

Currently ranked No. 147 on the Points List after recording one top-25 finish in 12 starts this season, a T23 at the Visit Knoxville Open last month

In his third full season on the Korn Ferry Tour this year after initially joining in 2017 and returning for the 2020-21 season

Has 13 top-25 finishes and nine top-10s in 71 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, including one victory at the inaugural 2021 HomeTown Lenders Championship

Originally turned professional in 2016 after four seasons at Texas Christian University (2012-16), where he garnered All-America Third Team recognition and All-Big 12 Conference honors as a senior

Joined PGA TOUR Canada in 2016 and made 11 starts that season, finishing sixth on the Order of Merit with one victory, three top-10s and eight cuts made

In his 2017 rookie Korn Ferry Tour season, logged two top-10 finishes in 20 starts and returned to PGA TOUR Canada for the following two seasons; ultimately finished No. 1 on the 2019 Order of Merit to win the PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year Award and full Korn Ferry Tour status

During the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season, logged seven top-10 finishes in 35 starts, highlighted by the aforementioned HomeTown Lenders Championship title, and finished the season No. 15 on the Points List to earn the first PGA TOUR card of his career

In lone season on TOUR, finished 171st in the final 2021-22 FedExCup Standings, resulting in a return to the Korn Ferry Tour this season

Plays from Dumbea, France and now resides in Fort Worth, Texas

Quotables

Paul Barjon on being solo leader entering the final round… “That's where you want to be, right? You want to play as good as you can after three days, obviously after four rounds as well. But it's always nice to have a one-shot lead coming into the last round. It's better than being tied or being behind. It's definitely something that you've got to take into consideration and not put too much pressure on yourself, but it's a good place to be.”

Paul Barjon on how difficult winning is… “It's hard to win, you've got to play good four days in a row. That's kind of what it comes down to. Then at some point you've got to get a little lucky unless you're leading by 10, which is not the case, but you've got to get a little lucky. If some guys shoot 10 under tomorrow, they'll be hard to beat. Obviously the leaders can shoot 10-under, too, but there's going to be a bunch of guys in the hunt.”

Frankie Capan III on any goals he set at the beginning of the season… “I think everyone's goal is to obviously get their PGA TOUR card at the end of the year, but nothing specific. I know if I keep sticking to my process and doing the right things and going about it the right way that everything will fall into place. And if it doesn't, you always learn from failures. Yeah, just really looking forward to pegging it tomorrow morning.”

Frankie Capan III on how he will prepare for the final round… “Nothing crazy, kind of the same thing we've been doing the last couple days. I feel like it's a course where you just want to give yourself as many chances as you can and see how many you can get to fall. You get on a roll, you get some momentum, you can make a lot of birdies. I think it's going to be a fun course to play in the hunt because things could change pretty fast with how many birdies you can make. But you still have to hit good shots, and it is possible to slip up. Like I said, excited to get going tomorrow.”

Notes

Korn Ferry Tour rookie Frankie Capan III (2nd/-19) sits solo second, his highest position after any round this season

- Followed his second-round career low round of 62 with a third-round bogey-free 7-under 64, made up of four birdies on the front (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6) and three on the back (13, 15, 16)

- Ranks second in the field with 22 birdies this week, only one behind Patrick Cover (T4/-17) who has 23

- Enters the final round without having a hole of bogey or worse in 42 consecutive holes (last bogey was on his 12th hole of the first round)

- In 12 starts this season, he has two top-10 finishes, highlighted by a T3 at the HomeTown Lenders Championship, and currently sits No. 43 on the Points List

Nelson Ledesma (3rd/-18) posted a bogey-free 7-under 64 via five birdies and an eagle at the par-4 eighth

- Marks his fourth time inside the top three after 54 holes and the second time this season (T3 at 2023 Astara Chile Classic where he finished T10)

- Has two top-10 finishes this season, matching T10s at the Astara Chile Classic and Visit Knoxville Open

Patrick Cover (T4/-17) and Tom Whitney (T14/-14) posted the low rounds of the day with 8-under 63s

- Cover rolled in 10 birdies against two bogeys in the third round, matching his career low round

- Whitney’s 63 also matched his career low round, which he’s achieved three times, most recently at the 2023 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (finished T2)

Jared Wolfe (T4/-17) carded a 7-under 64, his lowest round of the season, and is bidding for his second top-10 finish of the year (placed T10 at Astara Chile Classic)

After a second-round 10-under 61, Fabián Gómez (T6/-16) recorded a third-round bogey-free 6-under 65, his second consecutive round bogey free

Jacob Bridgeman (T6/-16) has 17 birdies against one bogey through 54 holes and sits inside the top 10 entering the final round for the first time in his Korn Ferry Tour career (22 starts)

- Bridgeman was the No. 2 player in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022 after playing collegiately at Clemson University from 2018-22, where he won five times individually and was named the 2022 ACC Player of the Year

After opening with rounds of 65 and 66, Max Greyserman (T6/-16) carded a third-round 5-under 66 and sits inside the top 10 entering the final round for the second time this season (T5 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, finished T10)

36-hole co-leader Martin Contini (T6/-16) recorded five birdies against two bogeys and a double bogey on his final hole of the day to finish with a third-round 1-under 70

- Contini posted a career low round in the second round with a bogey-free 10-under 61

After opening the third round with a double bogey at the par-4 first, University of Illinois alum Brian Campbell (T11/-15) finished Saturday with a 3-under 68 and is bidding for his third top-10 finish of the season

William Mouw (T11/-15), who finished No. 6 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2023, is making his fourth professional start and is in search of his third consecutive top-25 finish and first top-10

After being bogey-free through 36 holes, Mouw rolled in six birdies against two bogeys Saturday for a third-round 4-under 67