Farmington • If the Utah Championship had ended Saturday, Jim Knous would have topped the winning score from the tournament’s first visit to Oakridge Country Club last July.
That’s why he knows a victory will require a lot more birdies Sunday.
Knous moved into the lead with a 9-under-par 62, giving him a 22-under total for three rounds and a one-stroke lead over Cameron Champ. Andres Gonzales, who tied the course record (shared by Champ, thanks to Thursday’s opening round) with a 61, and Bhavik Patel are three strokes behind Knous.
They’re competing for the $126,000 first prize in the Web.com Tour event presented by Zions Bank. Former BYU golfer Patrick Fishburn is tied for 30th after shooting 67-67-68, and probably needs a 67 to make the top 25 and advance to the tour’s next stop.
Last July, the Utah Championship’s leading score moved only from 16 to 18 under in the third round and 21 under ended up winning. That trend was developing Saturday, when Champ was even par for the day through 11 holes after being 17 under through two rounds.
But then Knous surged into the lead and Champ got going, almost keeping pace with four birdies. His 67 came after a 61-64 start that he knew would be tough to maintain, describing the third round as “my biggest hurdle.” In that context, he said, the final round is “going to be a free day.”
Champ might be the tour’s hottest player this summer, having posted four straight top-10 finishes and moved to No. 27 on the season’s money list. Any kind of high placement would move the rookie from Texas A&M well inside the top 25 with five tournaments remaining and position him to qualify for the PGA Tour’s 2018-19 schedule.
Knous made nine birdies to follow his 65-64 start with another round that seemingly has come out of nowhere. That’s true in terms of scoring, yet he likes the way he has played lately. The Colorado School of Mines graduate worked on his short game at home in Denver last week, and he’s comfortable playing at altitude. “I know a lot of guys complain about it or they have trouble with it. I don’t mind it at all,” Knous said.
He played in the final group on Sunday in a California tournament last year and faded to a tie for eighth. “I learned to just keep the pedal down,” he said. Knous, who’s 94th on the money list and knows he needs a victory to get anywhere close to the top 25 with five regular-season tournaments remaining.
Gonzales opened the 2014 tournament with a 62 and led all the way in winning the Utah Championship, then played at Willow Creek Country Club in Sandy. This season, he has made barely $5,000 in nine starts. Gonzales eagled the par-5 No. 2 (Oakridge’s nines are reversed this week) and birdied eight holes Saturday, including the last two.
Fishburn knows he’s headed somewhere Monday. Whether that destination is Omaha for the next Web.com Tour stop or Ontario to resume his Mackenzie Tour travels in Canada will be determined by his finish Sunday, inside or outside of this weekend’s top 25. He’s tied for 30th place at 11 under, having just missed posting a third straight 67.
Fishburn had good birdie chances on the last two holes Saturday, after making four birdies in a row to salvage his 68. His misadventures included four-putting for a double bogey on the par-3 No. 6, and he was 1 over par through 12 holes. “Things were kind of going the wrong direction,” he said. “I’m happy with the way I came back.”
He nearly drove the green on the par-3 No. 14, starting his run of four birdies that was highlighted by a flop shot out of the rough to within a foot of the hole on the par-5 No. 15.
Orem native Scott Pinckney eagled No. 6 on his way to a 67; he’s tied for 14th at 13 under.