What a day of golf for PGA Tour rookie Wilson Furr at Procore Championship
The largest crowd of the week turned out on Saturday for the third round of the Procore Championship, the kickoff event of the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Fall.
They were treated to some fantastic scoring, starting with Wilson Furr, a Tour rookie, who shot a sizzling 8-under-par 64 on the North Course to move on to the leaderboard at Silverado Resort.
It did not stop with Furr.
There was the 7-under-par 65 turned in by Ben Silverman.
There were the 6-under-par 66s turned in by Bandon Wu, Mackenzie Hughes, Greyson Sigg and Corey Conners
Fans were also treated to some fantastic weather — sunny with temperatures in the mid-70s to low 80s and gentle breezes.
All in all, a perfect day in the Napa Valley, with the spotlight shining on Silverado, a par-35–37–72, 7,123-yard layout with so much history and also so many challenges due to its tight fairways, thick rough and greens that are so tough due to the amount of speed, slope and break. The North Course was re-designed in 2011 by Johnny Miller, a World Golf Hall of Fame member and 25-time PGA Tour winner.
“It was just a pretty clean day of golf,” Furr said, in assessing his round, which began at 9:50 a.m.
“Honestly, it’s been a tough year for sure, but I’ve felt like I learned a lot through it. I’m more just really excited to be in this position as opposed to being on a plane home. I’m just going to use that and just play my game.”
Furr was stellar, as had an eagle and six birdies, moving into contention, as he is at 12-under-par 204 through 54 holes. He was at 4-under through 36 holes, nine shots off the lead. He is now tied for seventh place.
“Birdied the first three, which is a dream start. Just steadied it out on the back nine a little bit, had some good putts that just barely burned the edge on a couple holes on the back nine,” said Furr.
Furr and everyone else is chasing the 36-hole and 54-hole leader, Patton Kizzire, who went low on Saturday, shooting a 5-under-par 67, a round that featured six birdies. Kizzire is at 18-under 198 and has a sizeable four-shot lead.
In second place is David Lipsky, who is at 14-under 202 after shooting 70.
Tied for third place are Hughes, Sigg, Conners and Patrick Fishburn (70), who are each at 13-under 203.
Tied for seventh place is Furr, Silverman and Sahith Theegala (69), the winner of last year’s Fortinet Championship at Silverado. They are each at 12-under 204.
Tied for 10th place is Chez Reavie (67) and Justin Lower (68), who are at 11-under 205.
“This is a golf course I really enjoy playing and I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said Kizzire. “The greens were fantastic. The maintenance crew has done a fantastic job, the agronomy team has done a fantastic job. They’re rolling really nice. I’m seeing the greens well and putting it on the line, it’s holding.”
Kizzire, 38, turned pro in 2008.
Kizzire is seeking his third career PGA Tour win in his 242nd start.
The Procore Championship is televised by Golf Channel and has a $6 million purse.
The FedExCup Fall is a group of eight tournaments played after the Tour Championship that finalizes eligibility for the 2025 PGA Tour Season.
In late July, the PGA Tour announced that California-based Procore Technologies, Inc., the leading global provider of construction management software, is the title sponsor of the kickoff event to the 2024 FedExCup Fall Season at Silverado Resort.
Kizzire entered the week at №132 in the FedExCup standings. He has two top-10 finishes in 18 starts this season.
All seven players with a 54-hole lead of four strokes or more have gone on to win on Tour this season, according to PGA Tour Communications.
Furr had an eagle-3 on the par-5, 15th hole, as he hit a 4-iron from 216 yards to the left side of the green, a high cut that came to rest just under three feet from the hole. His birdies came on Nos. 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 on the front nine and №16 on the back nine.
Coming into Napa, Furr had played in 18 events with four made cuts. He tied for 36th at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, tied for 38th at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, tied for 55th at the Corales Puntacana Championship, and finished 72nd at the John Deere Classic.
“Obviously, following a good round, I think playing golf long enough, I think one of the main things is just not to expect for it to go exactly the way it did (Saturday) tomorrow. But it’s golf, you’ve got to fight through it, play good golf,” said Furr, who turned pro in 2021.
“I’m just going to try to hit as many greens as I can (Sunday). I think that’s always a good strategy on Thursday and Sunday. And just draw on my experience from the Korn Ferry. I don’t have too much experience out here, but I’ve had some good experiences coming down the end the last two years with my card.”
Furr, a resident of Birmingham, AL, finished in the Top 30 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, giving him his PGA Tour card and exempt status through this year.
It’s his first time playing at Silverado.
“You’re trying to play good on the PGA Tour as a rookie and it hasn’t gone great,” said Furr. “There’s definitely been pressure, but I’m not alone in that. I don’t run from that. So, I feel like I just steer into it, know it’s coming and I think that’s the best way.”
Furr hit 7 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation. He had 28 putts.
“The greens are getting pretty firm. You can find yourself in some weird spots. So, we really just played a lot to the fat parts of the green, which everybody teaches you to do but it’s not as easy said as done, especially with a wedge,” said Furr. “So, I was really trying to be disciplined with the wedges, give myself a lot of 15-footers because that’s mainly been the thing I’ve been working on. So, I felt like I was starting them on my line, rolling them good and I felt like if I could just give myself as many 15-, 20-footers I’m going to make some of them, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Kizzire had his birdies on Nos. 3, 4, 5, 11, 15 and 17. His only bogey of the day was on the 10th hole.
He hit 8 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens in regulation. He had 23 putts.
He made a great par-save on the par-3 seventh hole by chipping in from the right rough.
“Swing feels good. I’ve been a little bit more focused on the mental game because I think that allows my swing to work, so that’s been a good combo,” said Kizzire.
Lipsky said he was trying to play safe, trying to make some putts, coming down the stretch.
“I really didn’t have my best today. You know, over the course of a week, days like this happen. Made some really nice putts coming down the stretch and hung in there and kept myself in it and that’s all I can ask for when I don’t have my ‘A’ game from tee to green. Especially around the turn, the swing just didn’t feel as good as it did the past two days and I just battled through it,” said Lipsky.
Hughes said he felt like he was in good control of his round.
“I’m going to keep doing what I can do and try and control that, not try and play the leaderboard too much. Go out there and make some good committed swings and just be committed to what I can control. If I do that, then I think I’ll like my chances,” said Hughes.
Today’s final-round begins at 8:10 a.m. from the №1 tee.
Kizzire and Lipsky play in the final group starting at 1:45 p.m.
Smotherman in field
Austin Smotherman, who is from Loomis (Placer County), is enjoying a very good week in Napa, as he is tied for 14th place through 54 holes at the Procore Championship at Silverado. He made a big move on Saturday, shooting a 5-under-par 67 to get to 9-under for the tournament.
“Always good to see yourself moving up on Saturdays, and to be playing the weekend here,” said Smotherman, a 2012 graduate of Del Oro High School-Loomis.
“Got friends and family all enjoying it. The job’s not done yet. It’s great to be on the leaderboard, high up on Saturday, but it’s where you finish on Sunday. So got to get the juices flowing (Sunday).”
Smotherman opened with a 69 and had a 71 in the second round.
“It seems like I’ve had kind of some slow starts the last couple days, starting on the front nine. I think that the back nine is kind of where all the birdies are being made, and you can definitely get it going, with three par-5s and everything,” he said.
“So, it’s just been a testament of staying patient. Probably a little bit more nervous (Sunday), later in the day. But patience is going to be our word as far as going forward.”
Smotherman was a two-time All-American Athletic Conference selection for Southern Methodist University. He was named to the PING All-Central Region team and was All-Conference USA.
Smotherman turned pro in 2016.
