Thompson grabs one-shot lead heading into final round of Korn Ferry Q-School Final Stage

   Curtis Thompson, the older brother of LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson, made three birdies on his last four holes on Orange County National’s Panther Lakes Course to put a nose in front of six talented chasers after three rounds of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School’s Final Stage Saturday in Winter Garden, Fla.

   Thompson, who turned 27 Friday, has emerged in 2019 from a funk that sidetracked his professional hopes to claim medalist honors in the Korn Ferry Q-School Stage II earlier this fall at the Plantation Preserve Golf Club in Plantation, Fla.

   His late birdie run Saturday enabled him to post a 2-under-par 69 over the par-71 Panther Lakes layout that left him with a 15-under 199 total after three rounds.

   It’s always tough from afar when two courses are being utilized to judge their relative strength, but Thompson and the six pursuers tied for second at 14-under 200 all played Panther Lakes Saturday. The Crooked Cat Course seemed to have played a little tougher in addition to playing to a par of 72.

   There were some weather issues the first two days, although wet conditions are often conducive to low scoring for players at this level. A story on the PGA Tour website indicated that the wet weather was followed by some challenging Florida winds and some tougher course setups.

   Thompson, a collegiate standout at LSU, celebrated his birthday Friday by surging into contention with a brilliant 9-under 62 at Panther Lakes in the second round.

   He was up and down in Saturday’s third round with four bogeys and three birdies that left him at 1-over for the round through 13 holes. But the new and improved Thompson turned it around with birdies at the 15^th and 17^th holes, both par-3s, and another at the par-5 finishing hole to get it to 2-under for the round.

   Everyone in the field at Orange County National has assured himself at least some status on the Korn Ferry Tour for 2020 just by making it to the Final Stage. Only the medalist (or medalists) is fully exempt for the whole year.

   The second through 10^th finishers are exempt for the first 12 events and the 11^th through 40^th finishers are exempt for the first eight events. There are reshuffles after four events than can affect your standing. But a finish in the top 40 is always a goal for the Final Stage qualifiers.

   Curtis Thompson’s older brother Nicholas Thompson, who will turn 37 Christmas Day, had worked himself into a tie for 15^th place following a 6-under 66 at Crooked Cat Friday. But Nicholas Thompson struggled to a 3-over 74 at Panther Lakes Saturday and fell back into a tie for 58^th place at 6-under 208,

   As recently as 2015 Nicholas Thompson, a former Georgia Tech standout, made 31 starts on the PGA Tour and in 2013 he made the FedEx Cup playoffs, earning nearly $1 million. He’s got some solid golf left in him.

   Among the six players tied for second, a shot behind Curtis Thompson, were two of the stars in the 2017 NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

   Braden Thornberry was the NCAA individual champion as a junior at Mississippi at Rich Harvest Farms. After sharing the lead following an opening round of 7-under 65 at Crooked Cat, Thornberry fell back with a 1-under 70 at Panther Lakes in Friday’s second round.

   But the 22-year-old Thornberry, a member of the winning U.S. Walker Cup team in 2017 at Los Angeles Country Club, got it going at Panther Lakes Saturday, firing a 6-under 65 that enabled him to join the group at 14-under 200.

   Nick Hardy was a junior on Illinois’ 2017 team that reached the semifinals at Rich Harvest Farms before falling to eventual champion Oklahoma.

   After surging into contention with a 9-under 63 at Crooked Cat in Friday’s second round, the 23-year-old Hardy, who capped his career with the Fighting Illini by winning the Big Ten individual title in 2018 at Baltimore Country Club’s Five Farms East Course, carded a solid 2-under 69 at Panther Lakes Saturday to move within a shot of Curtis Thompson’s lead.

   Former Georgia standout Greyson Sigg had matched Hardy’s 9-under 63 at Crooked Cat Friday. The 24-year-old Sigg, who fired a 59 in the GolfBC Championship on the Mackenzie PGA Tour Canada last summer, carded a solid 3-under 68 at Panther Lakes Saturday to join the group at 14-under.

   Steve Lewton, a 36-year-old Asian Tour veteran from England, owned the lead at the halfway point, but could only match par with a 71 at Panther Lakes Saturday. Still, he is very much in the hunt for the top prize of $50,000 at 14-under. Lewton played college golf at North Carolina State.

   Taylor Dickson, a 27-year-old who played collegiately at Winthorp, has been hanging around the top of the leaderboard throughout the Q-School Final Stage. After carding a 1-under 70 at Panther Lakes Saturday, Dickson will enter Sunday’s final round tied for second place at 14-under.

   Like Dickson, Mark Blakefield, a 36-year-old former Kentucky standout, refuses to go away at Orange County National. Blakefield posted a solid 3-under 68 at Panther Lakes and rounds out the group tied for second at 200.

   In a lot of ways, the pressure is off for Curtis Thompson and the six players a shot behind him in a tie for second. It would take a disastrous final round to knock any of them out of the top 40 and a solid showing could earn them one of those coveted top-10 positions.

   An interesting name made a strong move inside the top 40 as Brandon Wu, the choice of Global Golf Post as 2019’s male Amateur of the Year, had one of the better rounds at Crooked Cat Saturday, a 5-under 67 that left him in the group tied for 30^th place at 9-under 206.

   Wu delayed the start of his professional career because he wanted to play on the U.S. Walker Cup team at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England in September.

   Along the way, he helped Stanford win the NCAA crown at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. in May, made the cut and played the weekend in the U.S. Open at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in June, qualified for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July, was part of the gold-medal winning U.S. mixed team in the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and won medalist honors in qualifying in the U.S. Amateur at the Pinehurst Country Club & Resort.

   And yeah, he did earn a spot on the U.S. team and helped the Stars & Stripes rally in the Sunday singles to retain the Walker Cup with a 15.5-10.5 victory over Great Britain & Ireland.