Austin Championship Round 3: Trace Crowe Holes Out From the Sand to Grab a One-Shot Lead

Trace Crowe spent most of Saturday afternoon losing the Austin Championship presented by Compliance Solutions. Then he spent two holes taking it back. One over for the day through 16 and suddenly a shot behind the clubhouse number, Crowe holed a 45-foot bunker shot for birdie at the par-3 17th, per PGA TOUR highlights, and birdied the par-5 18th for a 1-under 71 and a solo 54-hole lead at 14 under on the Fazio Canyons Course at Omni Barton Creek.

Crowe sits one shot clear of Chad Ramey, Sami Valimaki and Erik van Rooyen at 13 under. Ben Kohles and Max Greyserman are two back, and eight players are bunched at 11 under, per the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab).

Finishing Friday

Sixteen players came back Saturday morning to finish the second round, and Crowe, who left the course 13 under with a 55-foot birdie putt waiting at the 17th, parred his last two holes for a 69 to stay one ahead of Kevin Yu (66-66), as our second-round recap previewed. Neal Shipley parred in for a 66 and a spot at 10 under, and Miles Russell did the same for a 68 and a share of ninth at 9 under.

The cut landed at 4-under 140, as projected, with 67 players through and 50 sent home, per the PGA TOUR leaderboard. Max Homa, Billy Horschel and Hank Lebioda survived on the number. Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Davis Thompson missed by one at 3 under, and Patrick Fishburn and Alejandro Tosti also missed. Chris Kirk, Mackenzie Hughes, Taylor Pendrith and Luke Clanton, all outside the top 100 in the FedExCup Fall standings entering the week, were already done.

The Wind Shows Up

The earlier groups got the calmer conditions, and Will Gordon used it best, shooting 66 off the 10th tee, the low round of the day, to reach 11 under. Zac Blair and Austin Smotherman shot 67 to join him, so the Bermuda and Utah champion is three back with a third straight win still in play.

By the time the leaders turned, the course had teeth. Heavy wind hit the late groups on their back nines, per Golf Channel, and the cold cost distance. "Compared to the first two days, it's much trickier," van Rooyen said, per Golf Channel. "Wind was difficult."

Crowe bogeyed the first two holes of his back nine and then the par-4 16th, which dropped him to 12 under, a shot behind the number Ramey had posted in the clubhouse.

The Leave

The 17th is a par 3, and on Saturday it was playing right into the breeze. Crowe hit a low 4-iron, found the bunker and liked where it ended up.

"It was like 220 straight into the wind, I was just trying to hit a 4-iron as low as I could and push it just a touch," Crowe said, per Golf Channel. "It was actually a pretty good shot to end up in that bunker, it was a good leave."

The bunker shot rolled in from 45 feet. Crowe birdied the 18th, and a round sliding toward a co-lead ended with him alone on top. A win would lock up his 2027 card, and the 30-year-old, No. 117 entering the week, is already projected at No. 63, per the PGA TOUR.

The Chasers Have Stories Too

Ramey shot 67 and held the clubhouse lead for more than an hour. The 34-year-old has made one bogey per round, Saturday's at the 17th, and has climbed from No. 136 to a projected No. 68, which would mean a 2027 card despite no top-10 finish in his first 26 starts, per Golf Channel. "On a week like this to kind of finally get some good results and be in a good position going into Sunday, it's great to see," Ramey said.

Valimaki, who has played through a right wrist injury and stitches in the left hand, shot 69. Van Rooyen survived a bogey at the 8th, a back-nine double and a bogey at the 17th, then birdied the 18th for a 69 that moves him from No. 140 to No. 108 in the fall standings, per Golf Channel.

Yu had the worst of the wind. ESPN's live leaderboard had Yu alone in front at 14 under through seven, and Yu signed for a 73 to fall into a tie for seventh. Kristoffer Ventura shot 72 to join that group. Brian Harman was 2 under through seven, then shot 76 to fall to T28.

The Kids Hold Steady

Russell, the 18-year-old amateur, and Blades Brown played together Saturday, started the day tied at 9 under and finished it tied again, at 10 under and T15. Russell got within one of the lead at 12 under through seven, per ESPN's live leaderboard, before the last 11 holes took two shots back for a 71. Brown went the other way, sitting 3 over through 10 before playing the last eight holes in 4 under for a matching 71. They are paired again Sunday.

Jordan Smith shot even-par 72 to sit at 10 under. Smith leads the field in strokes gained off the tee, per the PGA TOUR, and is projected at No. 58, inside the Aon Next 10.

Beat the Storm

With showers and possible heavy thunderstorms in the forecast, the final round was moved up and will go off both tees in threesomes from 7 to 9:01 a.m. local time, per Golfmagic. Crowe, Ramey and Valimaki are the final group.

Crowe has the course record, the lead and a hole-out on his side, but 14 players start Sunday within three shots. The opening 62 got him here. The final 18, likely in the rain, decide what it was worth.

Sources: PGA TOUR, Golf Channel, ESPN, Golfmagic. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.