Suspension Summary: The first round was suspended due to lightning at 10:23 a.m. local time, and resumed at 12:45 p.m. (delay of 2 hours, 22 minutes). The first round was suspended due to darkness at 8:34 p.m., with nine groups needing to complete their round. The first round will resume at 7:00 a.m. Friday.

Weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High of 83. Wind SSW at 3-10 mph.

Charting the leader (stats entering week)

Chandler Blanchet (first/-10)

• Matches his career-low 18-hole score with a bogey-free 10-under 62 via two eagles (Nos. 8, 18) and six birdies (Nos. 3, 9, 11, 15-17); closes his round eagle-birdie to take a one-stroke lead into the second round
• Holds the third 18-hole lead/co-lead of his career; most recently held the first-round co-lead earlier this season at the 118 Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro (finished T11)
• Making fourth career appearance at the Price Cutter Charity Championship (T15/2024, T37/2022, MC/2020)
• Owns eight top-25 finishes in 14 starts this season, highlighted by two top-10s (T9/Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank; T7/Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS)
• Began the 2025 season with conditional status after a No. 84 finish on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• Won the 2023 Totalplay Cup on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica (now PGA TOUR Americas) to secure fully exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024; recorded five top-10 finishes, including two victories, en route to earning Player of the Year honors
• Played collegiately for four seasons at the University of West Florida (2014-18), winning an individual national title at the 2017 NCAA Division II Championships and the 2017 Division II Jack Nicklaus Award, presented to the top Division II golfer

Neal Shipley (T2/-9)

• Cards bogey-free 9-under 63 via an eagle at the par-5 11th and seven birdies (Nos. 2, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15); posts his fourth round of 63 or better this season (best: 62/Veritex Bank Championship/finished T29)
• Logs his new career-high 18-hole position; previous was T3 at the 2025 LECOM Suncoast Classic, which he went on to win
• Has gone on to win each event in which he stood inside the top 10 after 18 holes this season (T3/LECOM Suncoast Classic; T7/The Ascendant presented by Blue)
• Korn Ferry Tour rookie who owns four top-10s, highlighted by two victories in 16 starts this season
• One of two multi-time winners this season (Austin Smotherman)
• Earned his second Korn Ferry Tour title at last week’s The Ascendant presented by Blue with a one-stroke victory after beginning the final round seven strokes back; marked the largest final-round comeback win on the Korn Ferry Tour since the 2024 Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank (Taylor Dickson)
• Previously won the 2025 LECOM Suncoast Classic in April, defeating S.T. Lee in a playoff after beginning the final round four strokes behind the 54-hole leader
• Currently No. 4 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List; should Shipley earn a third victory this season, he will earn an immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR via the Three-Victory Promotion
• Turned professional in 2024 after three seasons at James Madison University (2019-22) and two seasons at Ohio State University (2022-24)
• Runner-up finisher at the 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship (won by two-time PGA TOUR winner Nick Dunlap), which was contested at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
• Earned low amateur honors at the 2024 Masters Tournament and 2024 U.S. Open, becoming the first player since Viktor Hovland (2019) to earn low amateur honors at both events in the same year

Austin Hitt (T2/-9)

• Cards bogey-free 9-under 63 highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 11th; tied the second-lowest 18-hole score of his Korn Ferry Tour career, only trailing his 10-under 62 at the 2024 Price Cutter Charity Championship
• Stands inside the top 10 following 18 holes for the third time this season (previous: T1/The Ascendant presented by Blue/finished T31; T6/LECOM Suncoast Classic/finished T25)
• Notably held the first round lead at last year’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Hiland Dairy Foods (finished T44), as well as last week’s The Ascendant presented by Blue (finished T31)
• Made his Korn Ferry Tour debut at the 2023 Price Cutter Charity Championship, and has finished T44 in both prior appearances at the event (2023, 2024)
• Owns six top-25 finishes in 17 starts this season (best finish: T15/Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club)
• In his second season on the Korn Ferry Tour; finished No. 48 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie off the strength of three top-10s including a career-best T5 finish at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health
• Finished No. 4 in the 2023 Totalplay Cup standings to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time
• Played the 2021 and 2022 seasons on PGA TOUR Canada, finishing No. 68 and No. 33, respectively, in the Totalplay Cup standings
• Turned professional in 2021 after five seasons at University of North Carolina (2016-21), where he finished with the fourth-lowest career scoring average in program history (72.20)

Additional notes

• Second-year member Tanner Gore (T4/-8) stands inside the top five following 18 holes for the fourth time this season (most recent: second/LECOM Suncoast Classic/finished T13); began the first round with an eagle on the par-5 first en route to 6-under 30 on the front-nine.
• John VanDerLaan (T4/-8), who finished No. 63 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, cards 8-under 64 via an eagle at the par-5 11th and six birdies; stands inside the top five after the first round for the third time this season (most recent: T2/Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open/finished T51).
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Pontus Nyholm (T6/-7) sits inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the third time this season; previous instance came at the Visit Knoxville Open, where he stood T3 after the first round and went on to earn his first career victory
• Trent Phillips (T6/-7) matches his low round of the season with a bogey-free 7-under 65; cards five straight birdies on Nos. 15-18 and No. 1 (started on the back nine); stands inside the top 10 following 18 holes for the third time this season (best: T6/LECOM Suncoast Classic/finished T25).
• Rookie Brendan Valdes (T12/-6), who finished No. 2 in the 2025 PGA TOUR University Ranking, establishes a new career-high 18-hole position in his fifth career start on the Korn Ferry Tour (previous: T16/2025 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX/finished MC).