Wang Grabs Third Round lead in Korn Ferry Tour Qualifier at Dayton Valley Golf Club
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 10/01/2021 - 8:59am
Li Wang, Seattle, Wash., fired a 7-under 65 for a 16-under 200 total to take a one-shot lead after the third round of Stage One Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying at Dayton Valley Golf Club. Tied for second at 15-under 201 are David Bradshaw, Harpers Ferry, W.Va. and Gregory Moss, Sherman Oaks, Calif. who both carded 4-under 68.
Gunner Wiebe, Sherman Oaks, Calif. shot a 6-under 66 for sole possession of fourth place at 14-under 202. JooHyung “Tom” Kim, Republic of Korea shot 3-under 69 and is tied for fifth at 13-under 203 with first round leader Skyler Finnell, Santa Fe, Calif. who had a 2-under 70. Trevor Simsby, San Diego, Calif. and Eddie Olson, Scottsdale, Ariz. are tied for seventh at 12-under 204 after both carded 5-under 67.
The third round is known as moving day on Tour and three players shot low rounds to make big moves up the leaderboard. Henry Chung, Cerritos, Calif. turned in the first score and co-low round of the day with an 8-under 64. Chung moved up 21 places into a tie for 15th at 8-under 208 that is one shot below the current qualifying number of 7-under.
Similarly, Yung-Hua “William” Liu fired the other 8-under 64 and moved up 20 places at 6-under 210 that is one shot above the qualifying number. Shotaro Ban, Las Vegas fired a 7-under 65 to move up 15 places into a tie for 10th at 10-under 206.
Wang, who played college golf at Yale University, played in the Dayton Q-school in 2018 and failed to qualify for the second stage. He said that experience has helped him reach the top of the leaderboard this year.
“I feel like I’m a different player now and I developed a different strategy this year,” he explained. “The wind has been down less than in 2018 so I am playing conservative. I’m not hitting driver as much off the tee and playing into safe positions where I can go at the pin.”
“I feel like I can pick and choose the holes I want to attack,” he continued. “There are a third of the holes where par is good, a third of the holes it depends on how the wind is blowing and a third of the holes that are green light. I think the formula is working very nicely so far.”
Wiebe, who has improved his score in each of the first three rounds, is having fun in his return to competitive tour golf after a five-year hiatus.
“I’m having a great time and I’m playing really well,” he exclaimed. “Golf is hard enough without beating yourself up over bad shots. The way to play is with optimism and a positive attitude and I’m glad I finally figured that out. I’m a happy person and I’m happy to be in a good spot going into the last round.”
Favorable conditions have led to low scoring through three rounds. Forty-three players in the field of 74 are under par with an overall average score of one-under 71.26.
The qualifying number has moved to 7-under with 22 players theoretically qualifying after three rounds. With good weather predicted for the final round the qualifying number could move up to 8 or 9-under. There are 10 players within three strokes of the qualifying number so there will be a dogfight for the final qualifying spots in the final round.
Former Wolf Pack player Kaleb Gorbahn shoots 8-over 80 for a 230 total that is 14-over par and virtually eliminates him from qualifying.
The 20 low scores and ties after Friday’s final round of the 72-hole tournament will advance to Second Stage Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying at five sites in October. Players advancing to the second stage will play to make the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School Final where they will vie for a spot on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour.
For complete results and individual player scorecards visit the web link: https://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq21/event/pgatq2115/contest/4/le...
