Chris Francoeur takes 54-hole lead at 70th ECP Brazil Open

RIO DE JANEIRO – PGA TOUR Americas veteran Chris Francoeur holds a one stroke after posting a 5-under 66 in the third round of the 70th ECP Brazil Open at the Rio Olympic Golf Course. Francoeur holds sole possession of the 54-hole lead for the first time in his career.

After a bogey on the second hole, Francoeur settled in and turned in 16 holes of bogey-free golf with five birdies to finish his round. Through three rounds, Francoeur has only made two bogeys, tied for the second lowest amount in the field. This is the first time since the 2024 BioSteel Championship that Francoeur has carded three consecutive sub-70 rounds.

Wil Gibson (second), Ben Warian (T3), Maxwell Moldovan (T3), George Markham (T3) and Drew Nesbitt (T3) all sit within two strokes of Francoeur.

Francoeur played collegiately at the University of Rhode Island, where he competed on the Rams varsity golf team from 2017-21. After finishing his collegiate career, Francoeur earned status on PGA TOUR Canada for the 2023 season, where he made eight cuts in 10 starts in his first season on a PGA TOUR-sanctioned circuit. Francoeur made nine cuts in 16 starts with four top-25s in the 2024 season, highlighted by a T7 finish at the Times Colonist Victoria Open presented by Andrew Sheret Limited.

Final round tee times will run from 8-10 a.m. off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees, with Francoeur, Warian and Gibson making up the final group off of No. 1.

Charting the leader

About Chris Francoeur (first/-17)

 

• Holds a one-stroke lead heading into the final round; holds the 54-hole lead for the first time in his professional career
• Has made 19 birdies through three rounds (T3 in the field)
• Finished No. 52 in the 2024 Fortinet Cup to retain exempt status for the 2025 Latin America Swing
• Played collegiately at the University of Rhode Island from 2017-2021
• Has made 29 career PGA TOUR-sanctioned starts, 18 of which have come on PGA TOUR Americas
• Made his Korn Ferry Tour debut at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at the Abaco Club, where he made the cut and finished T31
• Favorite sports team is the Boston Red Sox
• Majored in finance at the University of Rhode Island

Competition notes

 

• Two countries are represented in the top five and ties: United States (five) and Canada (one).
• Chris Francoeur is the solo leader after 54 holes after carding a 5-under 66 in the third round to get to 17-under.
• Colombia’s Ricardo Celia (T9/-12) is the low-Latin through three rounds after carding a 3-under 68 on Saturday.
• Making his third PGA TOUR-sanctioned start of 2025 and first career PGA TOUR Americas start, Brazil native Fred Biondi is T26 after a 3-under 68 in the third round.
• Toronto, Ontario, native Drew Nesbitt (T2/-15) is the low Canadian through 54 holes.
• 72 players from 10 countries made the cut at 4-under at the 70th ECP Brazil Open.
• Hole No. 12, the 522-yard par 4, played as the toughest hole on the course in the third round, playing +0.640 strokes over par.