Carson Young fired an eagle at the par-5 15th as well as five birdies to close with a flawless 64 and take a one-shot lead at 13-under at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
“It was a lot of fun out there, even with the rain, just because I was making putts and making some chip shots, which was fun,” said Young. Just played really solid golf. Nothing too flashy out there. But it was just really good golf.
“[The wind] was pretty opposite wind today, out of the northeast pretty much all day, east-northeast, so it made the golf course and most of the holes play completely different. It was a little bit of a challenge to figure out what we’re doing off the tee on some of the par-5s or — like No. 5, the par-5, normally I’d have laid up with a 3-wood and hit a hybrid on the green, and today we just sent driver over the bunkers because it was downwind and was able to hit iron on the green from there.
“It played, I would say, a little bit more difficult today, especially with the rain and the elements, a little bit more windy, but somehow I managed to get the ball in the hole a little bit quicker.”
Young holds his second 54-hole lead/co-lead following the 2024 World Wide Technology Championship where he finished T2.
The American’s 64 was the low round of the day and his lowest in twelve starts this season. He has five made cuts and one top-25 finish (T10/Puerto Rico Open).
Young is playing in his third season on Tour and has had six top-10 finishes in 78 career starts (best: T2/2024 World Wide Technology Championship). He has one career PGA Tour-sanctioned victory to his name at the 2022 Panama Championship (Korn Ferry Tour).
American Harry Higgs signed for a 68 after firing five birdies as well as two bogeys and lies in second place at 12-under.
He sits inside the top 10 entering the final round for the first time this season in his 13th start of the year.
Higgs’ best finish in 133 career Tour starts was solo-second at the 2019 Butterfield Bermuda Championship and the 2020 Procore Championship.
He played primarily on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, finishing No. 8 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List after recording two wins (AdventHealth Championship, Visit Knoxville Open). He has four PGA Tour-sanctioned wins to his name, three on the Korn Ferry Tour and one PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes, who held the solo 18-hole lead and a share of the 36-hole lead, recorded a 70 and moved down into third place at 11-under.
Five players are tied in fourth place at 10-under including New Zealand’s Ryan Fox who recorded nine birdies, six bogeys and three pars en route to a 3-under 68.
“It was obviously a tricky day out there. The wind was up early, and we got rain probably the last eight holes,” said Fox.
“To be honest, I felt bipolar on the greens today. If I had a birdie putt, it looked like it had a chance of going in, and if I had a par putt, I was straight out of it and walking to tap the next one in.
“It was a strange, strange day. But happy I didn’t play my way out of the tournament making six bogeys.”
Overnight co-leader Cristobal Del Solar of Chile made two birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey at the par-3 12th for a 76 and tumbled down the leaderboard to T31 at 5-under.
