Neal Shipley Leads Ben Kohles by One at Biltmore Championship Asheville

• Neal Shipley shot a third-round 65 to take Biltmore Championship lead at 21-under 192.
• Shipley is the only player without a bogey through 54 holes at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove.
• Eric Cole and Ricky Castillo share third place, four strokes behind the leader.

Neal Shipley retained a one-shot lead over Ben Kohles after making an eagle and a birdie on the back-nine par-5s during the third round of the Biltmore Championship Asheville.

The PGA Tour rookie completed a bogey-free 6-under 65 on Saturday to reach 21-under 192 at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. Kohles matched that score and moved to 20-under by making three birdies across his final four holes.

Shipley, who took the halfway lead with a career-low 62, will carry his first 54-hole lead into Sunday. His total of 192 is six shots better than his previous career low through three rounds, set at the 2024 ISCO Championship.

“Just going to keep doing what I’m doing,” Shipley said. “Keep being me and keep having fun out there. Keep that mindset of going out there, chasing birdies and trying to get it as low as possible tomorrow.”

Shipley extends bogey-free run

Shipley reached the turn without dropping a shot before taking advantage of the two par-5s late in the round. At the 15th, he struck his approach from 227 yards to seven and a half feet and converted the eagle putt. A birdie followed at the 17th before he closed with a par.

The 25-year-old has now played 54 holes without a bogey, having recorded only five bogey-free cards in his previous 99 PGA Tour rounds. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting at 8.625 and has successfully scrambled on all 13 occasions.

A bogey-free final round would make Shipley the first PGA Tour winner to complete 72 holes without a dropped shot since Tom Kim at the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open.

With eight cuts in 20 starts, Shipley began the FedExCup Fall ranked No. 183. The inaugural Asheville event is the first of eight tournaments that will determine which 100 players retain full status for 2027.

Victory would bring a two-year exemption and secure Shipley a place in the more lucrative Championship Series when the PGA Tour’s two-tier structure begins in 2028.

“It would be huge,” Shipley said. “It would take a lot of stress off my back, that’s for sure. It’s one of those things I’m playing really well, and I know it’s a matter of time for me, so I’m going to give it my best shot tomorrow and lay it all out there and see what happens.”

Kohles stays within one

Kohles eagled the par-5 third and finished strongly to remain Shipley’s closest challenger. The five-time Korn Ferry Tour winner is seeking his first PGA Tour victory in his 125th start.

“Happy with the day,” Kohles said. “Played solid. Took advantage of par-5s, which, like I said yesterday, is something you got to do out here on this course.”

Kohles sits 96th in the FedExCup standings and will enter a final round inside the top three for the third time this season. He tied third at the John Deere Classic after finding water on the 18th, then finished ninth at the 3M Open.

Eric Cole shot 64 to join Ricky Castillo, who returned a 65, at 17-under. Jacob Bridgeman and Max Greyserman are another stroke back at 16-under.

Saturday’s tee times were brought forward and players were grouped in threes because of possible late-afternoon storms. Preferred lies remain in effect throughout the tournament following heavy rainfall and difficult agronomic conditions in Western North Carolina.

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