Charting the leader (stats entering week)

Zach Bauchou (first/-17)

• Cards bogey-free, 6-under 64, highlighted by birdies at the par-4 17th and 18th, to take a one-stroke lead at 17-under 193
• Holds his second 54-hole lead/co-lead on the Korn Ferry Tour in what is his 55th career start (2024 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance/finished T9)
• Stands No. 30 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List off the strength of four top 10s, including a season-high T4 finish at The Ascendant presented by Blue
• Finished No. 34 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earning fully exempt status for the 2025 season; he previously finished No. 82 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List in just eight starts, as he earned Special Temporary Membership off the strength of top-five finishes at the 2023 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open (T4) and 2023 Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse (T5)
• Finished T22 in both his previous starts at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation (2023, 2024)
• Played four seasons at Oklahoma State University (2015-19), where he was a 2018 All-America Second Team selection, two-time All-Big 12 Conference selection, and helped the Cowboys win the 2018 NCAA Championship alongside future FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland, future PGA TOUR winner Austin Eckroat and multi-time Korn Ferry Tour graduate Kris Ventura
• Finished T2 at the 2013 Junior PLAYERS Championship

Austin Hitt (second/-16)

• Cards 3-under 67 with six birdies and three bogeys to total 16-under 194 – eclipsing his previous career-low, 54-hole score by three strokes (2025 NV5 Invitational/197) – and stand one stroke behind 54-hole leader Bauchou
• Establishes a new, career-high 54-hole position in what is his 50th career start on Tour (previous: 2025 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club/T5)
• Held the 36-hole lead at 13-under 127, which tied the Simmons Bank Open 36-hole scoring record previously established by Paul Peterson, who went on to win the 2024 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation
• Carded a 9-under 61 in the second round, which tied Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation 18-hole scoring record previously established by Chris Baker (2024/Round 2), Matt Atkins (2024/Round 3), Max McGreevy (2024/Round 3) and Nelson Ledesma (2025/Round 1); Ian Gilligan also matched the 18-hole tournament scoring record with a 9-under 61 in Saturday’s third round
• Stands No. 41 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and is the highest-ranked player without a top 10 this season (next-highest player without a top 10: Augusto Núñez/No. 69)
• Finished No. 48 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie, earning fully exempt status for the 2025 season (top 75 from Points List)
• Missed cut at the 2024 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, his only previous appearance
• Played two seasons on PGA TOUR Canada (2021, 2022) and two seasons on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica (2022, 2023), earning Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time with a No. 4 finish on the 2023 Order of Merit
• Played five seasons at University of North Carolina (2016-21), where he posted a 72.20 career scoring average and earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference selections in 2019 and 2021

Additional notes

• Ian Gilligan (third/-14), who finished No. 4 in the 2025 PGA TOUR University Ranking to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the remainder of the 2025 season, ties the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation 18-hole scoring record with bogey-free, 9-under 61; the 18-hole tournament scoring record was previously established by Chris Baker (2024/Round 2), Matt Atkins (2024/Round 3), Max McGreevy (2024/Round 3), Nelson Ledesma (2025/Round 1) and Austin Hitt (2025/Round 2).
• Rookie Johnny Keefer (T4/-13), who earned victories at the 2025 Veritex Bank Championship and 2025 NV5 Invitational, is bidding to earn the Three-Victory Promotion, which would grant him immediate eligibility for FedExCup Fall events on the PGA TOUR; he currently stands No. 1 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and leads No. 2 Austin Smotherman by 227 points.
• Four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Robby Shelton (T4/-13), who earned his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the 2019 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, stands inside the top five through 54 holes for the third time this season (T1/Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health/finished T7; T1/Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse/finished third); he is bidding to become the 14 player in Korn Ferry Tour history with at least five career wins.
• Alvaro Ortiz (T4/-13), who stands No. 24 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, logs his third-highest 54-hole position of the 2025 season (first/Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/finished second; second/AdventHealth Championship/finished T3).
• Rookie Caleb VanArragon (T4/-13), who stands No. 67 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, logs his third-highest 54-hole position of the season (second/NV5 Invitational/finished T7; T2/Veritex Bank Championship/finished ninth).
• Davis Shore (T17/-9), a Knoxville, Tennessee, native and Sneds Tour alum who stands No. 38 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, cards 2-under 68 for his seventh consecutive round in the 60s at Vanderbilt Legends Club; he finished T26 at the 2024 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation with four rounds in the 60s (67-67-66-68).
• Blades Brown (T35/-6), an 18-year-old Nashville, Tennessee, native who stands No. 75 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, cards 2-under 68 and currently projects to rise to No. 71 on the Points List.
• Upon conclusion of this week’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, the top 144 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will qualify for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the second of four season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
• Three players who began the week outside the top 144 of the Korn Ferry Tour Points List made the cut:
  • No. 153 Ian Gilligan (third/-14) – projected No. 83
  • No. 147 Bio Kim (T35/-6) – projected No. 143
  • No. 145 Clay Feagler (T46/-4) – projected No. 145