Mason Andersen rises above rainy conditions to take three-shot lead at Korn Ferry Tour Championship

NEWBURGH, Ind. – It was a rainy Thursday in southern Indiana, as the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented United Leasing & Finance kicked off.

But at least one player was walking on sunshine.

"My caddie and I were having a great time, smiling and laughing,” said first-round leader Mason Andersen after his opening-round, 8-under 64, three clear of the field at Victoria National Golf Club. “I think if you get down in the dumps early about the weather, it's pretty tough to enjoy yourself, hit good shots. It really affects you mentally. So we were having a good time just playing in the rain.”

With his round, the 24-year-old Arizona State alum is projected to move from No. 42 to No. 8 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, which would be enough to secure his first PGA TOUR card. This week, TOUR cards will be awarded to 30 of the 73 players after the 72-hole, no-cut event.

With the absence of a cut, scores are sure to be staggered all week. There was a 20-shot difference between Andersen and Carter Jenkins, who entered the week at No. 26 on the Points List but shot an 84 to move outside of the top-30 bubble.

On a day where the rain steadily fell, temperatures dropped and average field score was at least a full stroke over par (73.233), Andersen took the largest 18-hole lead on the Korn Ferry Tour since David Lingmerth at the 2022 Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship.

Andersen, who started on the more difficult back nine, birdied five holes, including a near hole-in-one on the par-3 16th from 186 yards. He added three more birdies on the front nine to post his fifth round of 64 or better in his rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Andersen has competed in all 26 Korn Ferry Tour events this season, with three top 10s and 15 of 25 made cuts to show. He followed a mixed-bag spring, with three consecutive missed cuts sandwiched between two top 10s (Astara Chile Classic and AdventHealth Championship), with more rocky play in the summer -- three missed cuts, a 74th-place finish and a withdrawal. But consecutive T43-T2-T18 finishes in August and September locked up a top-75 spot and secured him full 2024 Korn Ferry Tour status.

So what changed?

"I think it was the break. I needed a break bad,” Andersen said. “Mentally some things were kind of going sideways. It wasn't really my swing. I was a little fatigued, I guess, but that break just did wonders, just to go back and just do nothing. … Yeah, I think the greatest thing you can do when you're playing a full season is just take a break, put the clubs away, just chill, yeah. I think it's huge mentally and physically. It's huge."

Andersen is not the only player on the first page of the leaderboard who is fighting for a TOUR card. He leads David Kocher, in solo-second place at 5 under, who is projected to move from 51st to 18th on the Points List, and Dimi Papadatos, who is still projected outside of the top 30 despite sitting tied for third at 4 under with Ben Kohles, the Points Leader entering the week.

A softer course plus sunnier conditions are sure to lead to lower scores throughout the weekend.

Things to Know

• Rookie Mason Andersen cards bogey-free 8-under 64, one of two bogey-free rounds Thursday (Ben Kohles/68)
• Andersen, Kocher and Matt McCarty (T5/-3) are the only three players currently projected to move into the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List; the three players currently projected to fall out of the top 30 are No. 26 Carter Jenkins (73rd/+12), No. 27 Joe Highsmith (T34/+1) and No. 30 Jackson Suber (T52/+4)
• Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance is the 26th and final event of the 2023 season, and the top 30 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List upon conclusion of the final round will earn PGA TOUR membership for the 2024 season
• Upon conclusion of the final round, players ranked Nos. 31-60 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will earn an exemption to Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, where 2024 PGA TOUR membership will be awarded to the top five finishers and ties
• Second-round tee times will run from 7:38 a.m. through 9:39 a.m. local time off the first and 10th tees

Notes

• Ben Kohles (T3/-4) entered the week at No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List and is currently projected to finish No. 1 – which would award him exemptions for the 2024 PLAYERS Championship and 2024 U.S. Open
• Alejandro Tosti (T5/-3), who entered the week at No. 5 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List with nine top-10s (tied for the most on Tour this season), is one of six players in the field mathematically able to finish No. 1 on the Points List; he can only potentially move to No. 1 with a win
• Dimi Papadatos (T3/-4), a four-time winner on PGA Tour of Australasia and winner on the Challenge Tour, can only move into the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List with a win; he holds his highest 18-hole position of the season (previous: T6/Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron/finished T43; T6/Astara Chile Classic/finished 2nd)
• Shad Tuten (T5/-3) entered the week at No. 29 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List and currently projects to move to No. 21
• Matt McCarty (T5/-3) birdies his final four holes (and five of his last six holes) en route to 3-under 69; he is one of three players currently projected to move into the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List (No. 37 to No. 30)