Eric Cole fired a career-best ten birdies but also made a bogey and a double bogey at the par-4 16th to close with a 7-under 65 and take a share of the lead at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

“I did a lot of stuff well,” said the American. “Few times I didn’t get away with some bad shots. Made a bogey and a double, so that wasn’t good.

“Putting was great and when I did miss other than those two holes I got away with it and kind of scored well today.”

Cole holds his second 18-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour. He is 0-for-1 converting to victory (2025 Sony Open in Hawaii/5th). He is currently No. 78 in the FedExCup Fall standings with two top-10s in 27 starts (5th/Sony Open in Hawaii, T5/The CJ Cup Byron Nelson).

He has had two runner-up finishes in 101 career starts (2023 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches/P2, 2023 Baycurrent Classic/T2).

Fellow American Sam Ryder signed for a bogey-free round to join Cole in the lead alongside compatriot Danny Walker and South African Garrick Higgo who both made one bogey.

Ryder holds his third 18-hole lead/co-lead and is 0-for-2 converting to victory (2023 Farmers Insurance Open/T4, 2025 Valero Texas Open/T40). He is No. 110 in the FedExCup Fall standings with seven top-25s in 22 starts, led by a T13 at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. He has had two runner-up finishes in 223 career starts (2018 John Deere Classic/T2, 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship/T2).

Walker, a PGA Tour rookie, holds his first 18-hole lead/co-lead. He is No. 104 in the FedExCup Fall standings with one top-10 finish in 21 starts (T6/The Players Championship). He entered the week with eight straight missed cuts.

“It was really good. It was really just the putter got heated up. That was probably my best putting round of the year I would imagine. I didn’t verify that statistically, but it sure felt like it was. So yeah, that was really the difference. I just made a bunch of putts,” said Walker.

“[The greens are] really good surfaces, so if you’re putting good, you can make a lot.

Higgo holds his first 18-hole lead/co-lead having previously been T2, most recently en route to winning the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship. He is No. 88 in the FedExCup Fall standings with two top-10 finishes in 12 starts (1st/Corales Puntacana Championship, T7/Procore Championship).

Defending champion Kevin Yu of Taiwan carded a bogey-free 67 and lies in an eight-way share of fifth place at 5-under.

FedExCup Fall Notes

The 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship is the second event of the FedExCup Fall, a group of seven tournaments played after theTour Championship that finalizes eligibility for the 2026 PGA TOUR Season.

At the conclusion of the final FedExCup Fall event (The RSM Classic), players inside the top 100 of the FedExCup Fall Points List will secure exempt status for 2026, while players finishing between Nos. 101-150 will have conditional status.

Nos. 1-50 in the FedExCup standings through the Tour Championship are locked in their positions while Nos. 51 and beyond carry their FedExCup points into the Fall. Nos. 51-60 through the FedExCup Fall will qualify for two Signature Events in 2026 (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational).

Winners of events during the FedExCup Fall receive the similar benefits of winners of Full-Field Events during the Regular Season, including 500 FedExCup points, Official World Golf Ranking points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption (exempt thru 2027) and invitations to The Sentry, The Players Championship and PGA Championship.

Related: Ryan Brehm in three-way tie for lead in Scotland

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship R1