Danny Walker claims three-stroke lead entering final round of Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse

Danny Walker claims a three-stroke lead entering the final round, his first 54-hole lead on the Korn Ferry Tour.

• Walker, who tied the course record in the first round, is bidding for his first career win on the Tour
• University of Nebraska alum Brandon Crick cards a bogey-free 68 and will join Walker in Sunday’s final pairing
• 36-hole co-leader T.J. Vogel records a third-round one-over 72 and sits three shots behind the leader
• Matt McCarty, No. 3 on the points list, claims his sixth consecutive top-five position after 54 holes
• Final-round pairings will tee off from 6:45 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. local time off the first tee

Third-round lead notes

2 — Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Pinnacle Bank Championship

• Kris Ventura (2019) and Sam Ryder (2017)

9 — Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2024

• Most recently was Karl Vilips at last week’s Utah Championship

Charting the leader

Danny Walker (leader/14 under)

• Clinches the first 54-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career in his 61st start.
• Only recorded four bogeys through 54 holes, tied with Brandon Crick for the fewest number of bogeys or worse by any player this week.
• Carded a third-round 4-under 67 via five birdies and one bogey.
  • Lone bogey of the day came at the par-4 16th, which he immediately followed with back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th.
• Earlier this week, earned the 18-hole solo lead with a first-round bogey-free 9-under 62 that set a new career-low round and tied the tournament course record.
  • Prior to this year, five players had recorded a 62 in the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse – Alejandro Tosti (2023/R4), Sam Stevens (2022/R4), Ben Taylor (2022/R3), Carl Yuan (2022/R3), Sam Ryder (2017/R3) – and two of those players went on to win the event (Tosti, Ryder).
• Entered the week No. 67 on the points list after logging five top-25 finishes in 19 starts this season.
  • Best finish this year came last month at The Ascendant presented by Blue where he placed T13.
• Prior to this week, has sat inside the top 10 after 54 holes twice this season (T7/LECOM Suncoast Classic/finished T20, T8/Club Car Championship/finished T14).
• In 60 career Korn Ferry Tour starts from 2019-24, has tallied eight top-25 finishes and two top-10s (5th/2023 Utah Championship, 6th/2019 Wichita Open).
• Two-time winner on PGA TOUR Canada with wins coming in 2018 and 2022.
• Last season, finished 121st on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List after logging one top-10 finish, a solo fifth at the Utah Championship.
• Despite finishing No. 121 last year, Walker secured 12 guaranteed starts to begin the 2024 season by finishing T7 at 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
• Walker originally joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 after earning medalist honors at Final Stage of Q-School in 2018 (earned access to Final Stage via his No. 7 finish on the 2018 PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit).
• After finishing the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour season No. 123 on the points list, Walker lost status and made just seven PGA TOUR-sanctioned starts from 2020-21.
• In 2022, made 10 starts on PGA TOUR Canada and tallied three top-10 finishes, including one victory.
• At the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament Final Stage, Walker placed T59 to secure conditional status for the 2023 season.
• Prior to turning professional in 2018, played four seasons at the University of Virginia (2014-18), earning All-America Scholar recognition his final two seasons.
• Native of Bradenton, Florida, where he helped Lakewood Ranch High School win back-to-back FHSAA Class 2A State Championships in 2011 and 2012, a Class 3A title in 2013 and also won the individual state title as a freshman in 2011.

Quotables

Danny Walker on what’s been working best this week… “Didn't get into like any real trouble. A couple good par saves, especially the one on 9 was really good for some momentum going into the back nine after hitting in the right rough and kind of being blocked out, so that was a great par save, kept the momentum going. Yeah, just made some good clutch putts. Made a lot of 15 footers today and really all week, so that helps a lot.”

Walker on holding a three-stroke lead entering the final round… “It feels good. It's right where you want to put yourself at the start of the week, so couldn't ask for better position going into Sunday. Again, still got to just commit to your game and focus on what you can control out there and the results will take care of themselves.”

Additional third-round notes

• Brandon Crick (T2/-11), a native of McCook, Nebraska and a University of Nebraska alum, records a bogey-free 3-under 68 with birdies at the par-4s 11th and 12th, and the par-5 15th.TT
  • Ties the best 54-hole position of his career after also sitting T2 after three rounds of the 2023 Utah Championship (finished solo fifth).
  • Crick has three top-25 finishes in the Pinnacle Bank Championship (T11/2020, T12/2021, T20/2023) and is bidding for his first top-10 in the event.
• T.J. Vogel (T2/-11) came into the day as the 36-hole co-leader but now enters the final round three shots behind the lead after carding a third-round 1-over 72 via three birdies against two bogeys and one double bogey.
• Matt McCarty (4th/-10) is inside the top five on the leaderboard after 54 holes for the sixth consecutive event and his eighth time this season.
  • McCarty, a third-year Korn Ferry Tour member, is currently No. 3 on the points list and already secured #TOURBound status after winning the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper last month, assuring him of a PGA TOUR card at season’s end.
• Three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Zecheng Dou (T5/-8) enters the final round inside the top 10 for the 17th time in his Korn Ferry Tour career (121 starts), bidding for his first top-10 of the season in his ninth start.
  • Dou earned a PGA TOUR card after finishing the 2022 season No. 4 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List; in 41 starts on TOUR from 2022-24, he has five top-25 finishes and one top-10.
• Aldrich Potgieter (T5/-8), who became the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history earlier this season, sits T5 after 54 holes following rounds of 66-70-69.
  • Potgieter currently is No. 26 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List with two top-10s on the year.
• Quade Cummins (T5/-8) is inside the top 10 entering the final round for the sixth time this season (converted into three top-10s).
  • Cummins, No. 10 on the points list, leads all players with 11 top-25 finishes this season.
• In his seventh Korn Ferry Tour start, Christo Lamprecht (T10/-7) cards a third-round bogey-free 5-under 66 and secures the best 54-hole position of his young career.
  • Lamprecht, a 23-year-old native of South Africa, earned Korn Ferry Tour status for the remainder of the season after placing No. 2 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Rankings, trailing only Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen.
• 36-hole co-leader John VanDerLaan (T13/-6), who finished runner-up in this event last season, carded a 6-over 77 and fell to T13.
  • VanDerLaan is in his sixth career appearance at the Pinnacle Bank Championship and has one top-10 finish: 2023/T2, 2022/T47, 2021/T35, 2020/MC, 2019/MC.
• In five of the last six Korn Ferry Tour events, the player who eventually won held at least a share of the 54-hole lead