Frederik Kjettrup four clear at CRMC Championship as he looks for third win of season

BRAINERD, Minn. – Two-time PGA TOUR Americas winner Frederik Kjettrup maintains a four-stroke lead heading into the final round of the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens after carding a 5-under 65 on Saturday. The Masters and U.S. Open low-amateur Neal Shipley is in solo second following a second-round 6-under 64. Joey Vrzich trails Shipley by one stroke with a 15-under tournament total heading into Sunday’s final round at Cragun’s Legacy Courses.

Occupying the first and second positions at the top of the leaderboard are two recent college graduates who are well-versed with one another far beyond their play as rookies on PGA TOUR Americas this season. Florida State alum Kjettrup and Ohio State alum Shipley were both competitive players at their respective colleges and crossed paths with one another at multiple collegiate tournaments.

Kjettrup’s success came early as the Denmark native garnered three collegiate victories and claimed two professional victories within his first month out of college. Shipley’s accomplishments came in a different fashion as the 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up made seven starts on TOUR this year after earning low-amateur honors at The Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open. His best showing came at the ISCO Championship where he finished tied for sixth.

Saturday’s third round proved to be an initial test for the duo as they will be paired together once again for Sunday’s final round. Kjettrup began the day with a five-stroke lead over Shipley, but ultimately made the turn tied with the Pennsylvania native after Shipley posted a 5-under 30 on the front nine compared to Kjettrup’s even-par 35. The back-nine proved to be momentous for Kjettrup as he went bogey-free and carded five birdies to return to his four-stroke lead over second place. Kjettrup used the back nine to his advantage for the third consecutive round as he is a combined 14-under par and bogey-free on Nos. 10-18.

Down by four strokes heading into Sunday’s final round, Shipley spoke highly of his competition and the thrill of going head-to-head as professionals. “Freddie is a great player. He has had a great season out here, and I think he is looking for his third win, so he knows how to get it done,” said Shipley. “We are going to have to go out there and chase him down because he’s probably not going to give it to us tomorrow. I’m excited, it should be a really fun day.”

Kjettrup will look to claim his third victory of the season this week and earn the Three-Victory Promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour. By virtue of three wins in a singular season, Kjettrup would automatically become an exempt member on the Korn Ferry Tour for the rest of the 2024 season and for the following season in 2025. The 24-year-old would be the first player to achieve this promotion since the inception of the Three-Victory Promotion in 2020 for the International Tours (formerly PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, which was combined in 2024 to form PGA TOUR Americas).

Final-round tee times are set to begin at 8:05 a.m. CT and will run until 1:15 p.m. CT in twosomes off the No. 1 tee. Kjettrup and Shipley will be paired together for the final grouping of the day.

About Frederik Kjettrup (first/-20)

Age: 24
Birthplace: Aabybro, Denmark
Residence: Tallahassee, Florida
College: Florida State University
Fortinet Cup (start of week): third

• A back-to-back, two-time PGA TOUR Americas winner; won in his second start as a professional and in his PGA TOUR Americas debut at The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, and followed this performance with his second victory at the ATB Classic.
• Finished No. 8 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking to initially earn exempt membership to the North America Swing of PGA TOUR Americas and conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour.
• Made his professional debut at the 2024 U.S. Open after earning a spot in the field via Final Qualifying in Alpharetta, Georgia.
• Started golfing at nine years old and only started to take the game seriously at 13 years old; his brother, Nicolaj, got him into the game.
• Grew up in Aabybro, Denmark and was the first one in his family to attend college in the United States (Florida State University).
• Played four collegiate seasons at Florida State where he claimed three individual victories (2022 All-American Intercollegiate, 2023 Watersound Invitational, 2024 ACC Championship) and claimed a team runner-up finish at the 2024 NCAA Championship.
• Girlfriend Charlotte Heath plays professional golf on the Epson Tour after graduating from Florida State in 2024.
• His role model is Ludvig Åberg; believes he has a good head on his shoulders and admires what he has been able to accomplish in his professional golf career.
• Won the 2021 Danish National Stroke Play Championship by seven strokes over fellow Dane Gustav Frimodt.

Competition notes

Course setup: Par 70, 7,001 yards; R3 average: 69.16
Weather: Sunny with a high of 82. Wind from the southwest at 4-16 mph with gusts up to 32 mph.

• Second-round play resumed at 7:45 a.m. CT Saturday morning after being suspended due to darkness Friday evening; the third round began at 12:05 p.m. CT off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees.
• Three PGA TOUR University alumni are in the top five: Frederik Kjettrup (1st/-20), Bryce Lewis (T4-13), Petr Hruby (T4/-13).
• Two-time PGA TOUR Americas winner Frederik Kjettrup (1st/-20) holds a four-stroke lead over The Masters and U.S. Open low-amateur Neal Shipley.
• Kjettrup holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the third time this season; has resulted in a win the last two instances (The Beachlands Victoria Open, ATB Classic).
• Rodolfo Cazaubon (T6/-11) enters the final round as the low Latin following a third-round 6-under 64.
• Sixty-two players made the cut in 3-under 137.
• Petr Hruby (T4/-13) posted the low round of the day in 7-under 63.
• Team Canada members Stuart Macdonald (T17/-8) and Matthew Anderson (T21/-7) are the two Canadians inside the top-25.
• Caleb VanArragon (T10/-10) advanced as the only Monday Qualifier to make the cut.
• The two amateurs in the field, Carson Herron (T15/-9) and Ben Warian (T51/-2), made the cut.
• Hole No. 15 – the 234-yard par 3 – is the most challenging hole at Cragun’s Legacy Courses; averaging a +.380.