Alejandro Tosti surges to 54-hole lead at The Ascendant presented by Blue

Things to Know

• Rookie Alejandro Tosti birdies final four holes to card 8-under 64 and break the 54-hole tournament scoring record at 15-under 201, carries a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round
• Tosti eagles par-5 fifth for second consecutive day and for fifth total eagle of the tournament, tying a Korn Ferry Tour single-tournament record for total eagles currently shared by six other players
• Rookie Tim Widing cards 8-under 64 despite closing three-putt bogey, climbs from T9 to T2 and, along with two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Nicholas Lindheim, ties previously established 54-hole tournament scoring record of 14-under 202 to sit one stroke off the lead
• Making fifth and final start in preparation to return to the PGA TOUR on a medical extension, Lindheim, the outright 36-hole leader, bogeys par-4 18th and falls into two-way T2 with Widing
• Three of the four previous playings of The Ascendant presented by Blue were won by a 54-hole leader/co-leader
• Of the 16 tournaments completed this season, six were decided by one stroke, while eight were determined via a sudden-death playoff
• Play was suspended due to lightning at 3:52 p.m. local time, and resumed at 7:10 p.m. (3 hours, 18 minutes)
• Final-round pairings will run from 6:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. local time off the first tee

Third-Round Lead Notes

• Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win The Ascendant (Nelson Ledesma/2019; Will Zalatoris/2020; Zecheng Dou/2022)
• 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/Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS)

Charting the Leader (stats entering the week)

Alejandro Tosti (1st/-15)

• A 27-year-old rookie from Rosario, Argentina seeking first Korn Ferry Tour win in 17th career start on Tour
• Holds first 54-hole lead/co-lead in a Korn Ferry Tour event; his previous career-high 54-hole position was solo second/2023 Visit Knoxville Open/finished T4
• Bidding to become third rookie winner and eighth first-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this season
• With five eagles through first three rounds (par-4 third/Round 1, par-5 fifth/Rounds 2 & 3, par-5 15th/Rounds 1 & 2), ties the Korn Ferry Tour single-tournament record for total eagles previously established by six other players
- Chris Smith, 1997 Omaha Classic
- Bradley Iles, 2010 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron
- Michael Arnaud, 2018 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX
- Sam Burns, 2018 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank
- Hank Lebioda, 2020 The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village
- Joey Gaber, 2020 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank

• At 15-under 201, breaks the 54-hole tournament scoring record of 14-under 202 previously established by Taylor Moore and Tyson Alexander in 2021
• Cards 8-under 64, tying Tim Widing (Round 3) for the low round of the week with an eagle at the par-5 fifth, eight birdies (Nos. 1, 3, 7, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18) and two bogeys
• Makes one of two birdies at the par-4 18th in Saturday’s third round (Joe Highsmith), and becomes the first player this week to make birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 in the same round
- Three eagles in Friday’s second round (par-4 third, par-5 fifth, par-5 15th) were the most eagles in a single round by a Korn Ferry Tour player this season; four Korn Ferry Tour players made three eagles in a round last season (most recent: Ben Taylor/2022 Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna/Round 3)
• With 19 total birdies (five eagles, 14 birdies) this week, matches Tim Widing (19 birdies) and Isaiah Salinda (18 birdies, one eagle) for the most total birdies in the field
• Stood T75 following even-par 72 in the first round, would become the second player this season to go on to win after standing worse than T41 following the first round (Pierceson Coody/T75/The Panama Championship)
• Six top-10s this season, including three fourth-place finishes, are tied with Rico Hoey and Jake Knapp for the most top-10s on Tour
• Also boasts three made cuts in as many PGA TOUR starts this season, highlighted by a T10 from the 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta
• Earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time via a No. 5 finish in the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Totalplay Cup, and earned guaranteed starts for the first eight events of the season with T29 at Final Stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament
• Played primarily on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica from 2018-2022, earning his first win in 2019 and a second in 2022
• Turned professional in 2018 after four seasons at the University of Florida (2014-18), where he won four times individually, with the crown jewel being medalist honors at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championship
• Represented Argentina at the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy, finishing T2 individually and three strokes behind individual medalist Jon Rahm

Tim Widing (T2/-14)

• A 26-year-old rookie from Jonkoping, Sweden seeking first Korn Ferry Tour win in 16th career start on Tour
• Bidding to become third rookie winner and eighth first-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this season
• Set to play in the final pairing for second time in last three events; he held a one-stroke lead through 54 holes of the Compliance Solutions Championship/finished T4
• Cards nine birdies (Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15) against one bogey at the par-4 18th en route to 8-under 64, tying second-lowest round of Korn Ferry Tour career (8-under 64/2023 Astara Chile Classic/Round 2; 7-under 63/2023 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH/Round 2)
• Makes birdie at par-4 sixth for third consecutive round
• Owns a trio of top-10s this season (T8/Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club; T3/Astara Chile Classic; T4/Compliance Solutions Championship) to stand No. 33 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• Earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for this season via T29 at Final Stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament, securing guaranteed starts for the first eight events of the 2023 season
• Turned professional in 2021 and played the 2021-22 season on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, posting one top-10 and nine made cuts in 12 starts
• Played five seasons at the University of San Francisco (2016-21), where he won three times individually and became the sixth student-athlete in school history in any sport to earn four All-West Coast Conference First Team laurels
• Helped Sweden earn a silver medal at the 2015 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup
• Also represented Sweden at the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy

Nicholas Lindheim (T2/-14)

• Making fifth and final start in preparation to return to the PGA TOUR on a medical extension, posts 3-under 69 and moves to 14-under 202, one stroke off the lead in search of his first win since 2017 DAP Championship
• In four starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, has three top-10s, including a solo third at the Compliace Solutions Championship last month
• Making fourth start at this event, with previous finishes of T44/2020, T44/2022, and withdrawal/2021
• In nine rounds at TPC Colorado prior to this week, lowest score was 4-under 68 (2022/Round 4)
• Previous Korn Ferry Tour wins are 2016 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank (2-stroke victory over J.J. Spaun), 2017 DAP Championship (defeated Chesson Hadley and Rob Oppenheim in playoff)
• In 19 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, recorded 15 made cuts, a season-high finish of T6/LECOM Suncoast Classic, and five top-25s, including two in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to secure a return to the PGA TOUR
• Previously earned or retained PGA TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022
• Won twice on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica (2014 and 2015) while playing the Korn Ferry Tour
• Did not take up golf until 2003 at age 19 and turned professional in 2006, after which he moved to Florida

Quotables

Alejandro Tosti on being in contention multiple times this season and what it will take to win Sunday… “I know at some point it's going to turn. I've been playing great, I've been putting myself in positions. A couple weeks ago I was one shot off the playoff, a couple other tournaments fourth place as well, a couple shots off. It's just one swing away. I've been playing great golf and I cannot really complain or look at something different. I've just got to show up, play some more golf, If it's meant to be, it will be, and if not, I'll keep trying.”

Tosti on the key to his success this season… “I would say my focus, my focus, it's been like never before. I mean, this method, Vision Sticks, that I'm using has helped me so much with my focus and my everything, every mental aspect of the game. The focus, the concentration, decisions, green reading, it just helps me so much to be able to put everything together and have the best results of my life.”

Tim Widing on what he learned from playing in the final pairing two events ago… “Oklahoma was definitely fun and a new experience for me. Just being able to accept that the nerves are there and then just, you know, deal with it. Just be kind of ‑‑ for me, just focus on the breathing, look around at the surroundings and not think about too much what other guys are doing out there and look at their scores. It's going to be interesting tomorrow. I know I've been playing really good lately, so just got to focus on that and just keep hitting good shots.”

Notes

• Quade Cummins (4th/-13), who finished No. 70 on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and No. 6 in the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class of 2021, bounces back from double-bogey six at par-4 11th with four birdies in next five holes (Nos. 12, 13, 14, 16) to card 3-under 69 and earn his second-highest 54-hole position (3rd/2022 HomeTown Lenders Championship/finished T4)
• Rookie Parker Coody (T5/-12), who won on PGA TOUR Canada last year and finished No. 13 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022, makes seven birdies against two bogeys en route to 5-under 67, stands inside the top 10 through 54 holes for the second time in 12 career starts on Tour (T5/2023 Veritex Bank Championship/finished T52)
• Max Greyserman (T5/-12), who finished No. 46 on the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and only made seven starts in 2022 due to injury, stands inside the top 10 through 54 holes for the second consecutive event (T6/Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/finished T17) and third time this season (T5/The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club/finished T10), in addition to matching his second-highest 54-hole position from 82 previous starts on the Korn Ferry Tour (T3/2020 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club/finished T8)
• Paul Barjon (T7/-10), who won the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS, is bidding to become the 12th player (13th occurrence) to win back-to-back events on the Korn Ferry Tour
• With a two-way T2 finish or higher Ben Silverman (9th/-9) would overtake Ben Kohles for the No. 1 position on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• With a solo-28th finish or higher, Rico Hoey (T37/-3) would overtake Ben Kohles for the No. 1 position on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List