Frankie Capan III cards 8-under 62 on Saturday, holds one-stroke lead at Visit Knoxville Open

Things to know

• Second-year Korn Ferry Tour member Frankie Capan III cards an 8-under 62 in Saturday’s third round to take the 54-hole solo lead.
• Thirty-six-hole co-leader Harry Higgs trails by one stroke along with Sam Bennett, Rhein Gibson and Max McGreevy.
• Due to inclement weather Saturday morning, tee times were delayed until 11:30 a.m. local time with groups starting on the first and 10th tee.
• Due to forecasted severe weather Sunday, tee times will run from approximately 7:30-9:40 a.m. ET with groups going off the first and 10th tee.

First-round lead notes

• 17 – Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Visit Knoxville Open: Anders Albertson (2022), Robby Shelton (2019), Martin Piller (2014), Darron Stiles (2012, 2002), Kirk Triplett (2011), Chris Kirk (2010), Jarrod Lyle (2008), Chez Reavie (2007), Hunter Haas (2006), Kim Felton (2005), Heath Slocum (2001), J.J. Henery (2000), Jeff Gove (1999), Robin Freeman (1998), Eric Johnson (1996) and Tim Conley (1993)
• 3 – Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2024: Jeremy Paul (The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay), Isaiah Salinda (The Panama Championship) and Tim Widing (Veritex Bank Championship)

Charting the leader

Frankie Capan III (leader/-15)

• Cards an 8-under 62 in the third round to tie the low round of the week (Trace Crowe/R2; Dalton Ward/R2)
  • Went out on the front nine making five birdies (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 8) and went on to roll in four more on the back nine (Nos. 10, 13, 14, 18) against one bogey (No. 17)
• Tied the lowest 18-hole score relative to par earlier this season in the first round of the Veritex Bank Championship with a 13-under 58 and tied the second-lowest 18-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history
• Holds first career 54-hole lead/co-lead in what is his 33rd career start on the Korn Ferry Tour; his previous career 54-hole high was second/2024 Veritex Bank Championship
• Bidding for first career Korn Ferry Tour victory
• Missed the cut at the 2023 Visit Knoxville Open, his only previous appearance at the event
• Finished No. 51 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie last season, earning fully exempt status for the 2024 season
• Finished T8 at Final Stage of 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry); he was one of eight players who advanced through each stage of Q-School, beginning with pre-qualifying, in 2022
• Played two seasons at the University of Alabama (2018-20) and two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University (2020-22), earning one victory and garnering All-Atlantic Sun Conference Second Team honors in 2021 and 2022 while at Florida Gulf Coast
• Won back-to-back individual state titles at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division III Championships in 2017 and 2018, winning the latter by 10 strokes off the strength of a second-round 11-under 59 on the Sonoran Desert Course at Omni Tucson National Resort

Quotables

Frankie Capan on his third round 8-under 62:“I felt pretty comfortable out there. You know, the last few days I've hit a lot of really nice shots. I think today I was able to get off to a hot start, which was great, and then was able to roll a few putts in, which gave me a little bit of momentum going into the final, six, seven, eight holes. But yeah, the first two days I hit it really well, too, so it was nice to just get a few putts to drop today.”

Capan on his recent form and where his consistency stems from: “Just understanding that I believe in myself and my game, just getting a little bit more comfortable and I think just trusting my game. You know, Rusty's been a big part of that. We've had few nice events two of the last three weeks and hopefully finish this one off. I think just understanding that, you know, my game when I'm playing well, I have a good chance to win and just not really shying away from that and almost pouring into that and really just trying to bring -- you know, I played a lot of football as a kid and just trying to bring out some of that attitude that I had when I was playing football out here.”

Capan on playing with an aggressive mindset: “I would say aggressive is a tough word because it's not necessarily aggressive in terms of like I'm playing more aggressively. I would say it's more a belief and confidence in myself and my game. I think just working a lot harder. Knowing that I've put all the work in to put myself in a position to win has really helped me with that sort of mindset just because, I mean, when we leave here I'm going to go to the gym, I'm going to work out, I'm going to get dinner, then I'm going to probably mark the pins for tomorrow, check the weather and go to bed. I think just I've really put a lot of work into my game and mentally, physically, emotionally. I think just understanding that I'm doing all the right things, so may as well just get after it.”

Notes

• Nine players posted bogey-free rounds on Saturday
• First-year Korn Ferry Tour member Sam Bennett (T2/-14) turns in a bogey-free 5-under 65 with birdies on Nos. 1, 7, 8, 10, 18
  • The former Texas A&M Aggie is seeking his second top-10 finish of the year (The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at the Abaco Club/T9)
• Australian Rhein Gibson (T2/-14) and 36-hole co-leader Harry Higgs (T2/-14) are looking for their third career wins on the Korn Ferry Tour
  • Higgs won last time out at the AdventHealth Championship, defeating Tanner Gore in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff
  • Gibson last won at the 2023 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in Bogota, Colombia
• 2021 Korn Ferry Tour graduate Max McGreevy (T2/-14) posts a 4-under 66 to join Bennett, Higgs and Gibson in a four-way tie for second
  • McGreevy is bidding for his fourth top-10 finish of the 2024 campaign and second career victory (2020 Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper)
• 2024 Korn Fery Tour winner Kevin Velo (T6/-13) finishes his third round with three consecutive birdies (Nos. 16, 17, 18) en route to a 5-under 65
• Tim Widing (T9/-11), who is currently No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, is bidding for his third victory of the season, which would earn him an immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR; he would become the fastest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to earn the Three-Victory Promotion (Jason Gore/11 starts)
  • Widing would also join Jason Gore as the only other player in Tour history to win in three consecutive Korn Ferry Tour starts
• Keenan Husky (T9/-11), who sits No. 39 on the Points List, climbed 48 spots on the leaderboard after a bogey-free 7-under 63
  • The Greenville, South Carolina native is eyeing his second top 10 of the year (T2/The Panama Championship)
• Sponsor exemption Spencer Cross (T44/-7), who finished T10 in last year’s event, follows up his bogey-free 7-under 63 in the second round with a 1-under 69 on Saturday
  • Cross would gain entry into next week’s UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH with a T25 finish or better