Ben James Fires 66 to Take Four-Shot Lead at World Wide Technology Championship

• Ben James shot a 6-under 66 to reach 21-under 195 and lead by four.
• World No. 23 Ryan Gerard is second on 17-under after a bogey-free 65.
• Chris Kirk and Denny McCarthy are tied third, five shots behind.

Ben James birdied his first three holes on Saturday and pulled away from the field at El Cardonal at Diamante. His 6-under 66 took him to 21-under 195 and a four-shot lead at the World Wide Technology Championship, a day after his bogey-free 64 gave him a one-shot advantage.

It is the second time the rookie has held a 36-hole lead on Tour. The first was at the RBC Canadian Open in June, his professional debut. There he shot a third-round 78 and finished T54.

This time he held firm in a strong wind. His only bogey of the week came at the par-4 8th. On the 15th he rode a 5-iron over the ridge to 2 feet, and he finished with a pitch to the same distance for birdie at the par-5 18th.

“I hit a little cut 5 [-iron] in there, which was a little risky, but we knew with wind off the right and a draw it had a better chance of rolling left, and it’s not so good over there,” James said. “Just hit a really well-executed shot that just got maybe a good break, but I thought it was just a great shot.”

“I almost feel like I played better today than the first two rounds even though my score didn’t show it,” he said. “I left myself a lot of pitch shots into the wind, which is always important playing in the wind.”

What a win would mean

James is chasing a first PGA Tour title in his 22nd start. His best finish so far was second at the Biltmore Championship Asheville in September. He already has a card for next year as the No. 1 player in the 2026 PGA Tour University Ranking.

The winner here gets a two-year exemption, which includes a place in the Championship Series when the Tour’s new two-series structure begins in 2028. The prize also includes invitations to The Players Championship and the PGA Championship and 500 FedExCup points. A win should also move James into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

He would be the fifth rookie to win on Tour this season. He would also join Ludvig Åberg, who won the 2023 RSM Classic, as the only PGA Tour University graduates to win in the season they joined the Tour.

In each of the last three years at El Cardonal, the winner started the final round at least one shot back. But the last four Tour events were all won by a player holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

Gerard changes putters

Ryan Gerard is the highest-ranked player in the field. He chose the Baja Peninsula this week over Abu Dhabi, where he would have teed up at No. 70 in the Race to Dubai. His bogey-free 65 ended with a missed 6-foot birdie putt at the last.

He carries two putters and switched from a mallet to a blade on Saturday because the blade had worked for him on Paspalum greens before. He is seeking his second Tour title after the 2025 Barracuda Championship, and he has finished runner-up three times this season.

“Just rolled it pretty nicely all day,” Gerard said. “Feel good about the pace. I just need a couple of them to go in tomorrow and to keep hitting the center of the face and we’ll be fine.”

Chris Kirk, the first-round leader, shot 65 to share third with Denny McCarthy (67). Kirk is now projected to climb from 110th to 87th in the FedExCup Fall standings, inside the top 100 who keep full cards for 2027.

Guadalajara’s Alvaro Ortiz followed a second straight 66 to sit six back on 15-under. Michael Kim shot the low round of the day, a 9-under 63, to reach 14-under. Pierceson Coody aced the 178-yard par-3 9th, his first hole-in-one on Tour and the first on that hole in the event’s history at El Cardonal.

Related: Championship Links, Grand Hotels and Capital Nights. Northern Ireland has it all in abundance.

Four days in Northern Ireland playing four very different golf courses, including a look at Portstewart's newly upgraded Strand. From Galgorm Castle's thermal spa village and Malone's lakeside closing stretch to Cairndhu's clifftop par three, trad music in Belfast and the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland offers golf and culture beyond expectations.

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