Charting the leader (stats entering week)

Billy Tom Sargent (first/-11)

• Cards 7-under 64 via an eagle on the par-5 12th and six birdies (Nos. 6-8, 10, 14, 18) against one bogey, tying his season-low round, which he most recently posted in June in the third round of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open (finished T7)
• Holds the first 36-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career in what is his 56th start; previously stood as high as T5 in a Korn Ferry Tour event following Round 2 at the 2023 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard (finished T54)
• Stands No. 110 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and has registered three top-25s, highlighted by a lone top-10 at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open/finished T7
• Leads the field in Greens in Regulation, notching an 86.11% with 31/36 greens hit
• With a win, would be projected to improve from No. 110 on the Points List to No. 26
• Making his first appearance at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and his second career start at a Korn Ferry Tour Finals event (other: 2023 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron/finished MC)
• Previously played three seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour (2020, 2022, 2023), and regained conditional status for the 2025 season through a T72 finish at Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry
• Logged one top-10 in his singular season on PGA TOUR Canada (now PGA TOUR Americas) in 2021, finishing No. 74 in the Fortinet Cup standings
• Played collegiately for five seasons at Western Kentucky University (2014-19), winning five events individually and earning the first All-America honor in program history with his Honorable Mention recognition in 2019

Additional notes

• First-round leader John VanDerLaan (T2/-9), who tied the course record in Round 1 with 9-under 62, posts even-par 71 after carding 4-over par 39 on his front-nine (started on hole No. 10); stands inside the top three following 36 holes for the second time this season, having held the outright lead at the season-opening Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island (finished T9).
• Trent Phillips (T2/-9) stands inside the top five following 36 holes for the second consecutive event, having entered the third round of the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation tied for fourth (finished T7).
• Bio Kim (T2/-9), a 10-time international winner and former Korn Ferry Tour member (2012, 2013, 2018), follows a first-round 6-under 65 with 3-under 68 in his fifth start of the season; Kim entered the week No. 137 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and is projected to climb to No. 72 with his current position, which would lock up a spot in next week’s Compliance Solutions Championship – the third Finals event of the season.
• Three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Zecheng Dou (fifth/-8) opens with four birdies in his first five holes (Nos. 10, 12-14) and cards 7-under 64 to move 33 spots up the leaderboard; marks the fifth time he has posted a score of 64 or better this season (best: 61/Veritex Bank Championship/finished T18).
• Winner of the 2025 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard, Kyle Westmoreland (sixth/-7), holds his best 36-hole position of the season and stands inside the top 10 following Round 2 for the first time since the 2024 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron (T4/finished T12); Westmoreland is one of six tournament winners this season that currently stand outside the top 20 of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List.
• Second-year member and Stow, Ohio, native Ian Holt (T7/-6), who stands No. 38 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, stands inside the top 10 through 36 holes for the fourth time this season (most recent: T3/The Ascendant presented by Blue/finished T12); Holt regained Korn Ferry Tour status this season after losing his membership in 2023 via finishing No. 10 in the Fortinet Cup standings on PGA TOUR Americas.
• Third-year member Will Cannon (T10/-5) posts the low round of the day and matches his career-low 18-hole score in 8-under 63, climbing 97 spots up the leaderboard after a first-round 3-over par 74; Cannon won the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship on PGA TOUR Americas last season to move inside the top 10 of the Fortinet Cup standings and earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for this season.
• Doc Redman (T10/-5) records a hole-in-one on No. 17 – the 204-yard par-3 – with a 5-iron; marks the eighth ace in tournament history and first since 2019/Julián Etulain/No. 17/Round 1.
• Upon conclusion of this week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the top 120 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will qualify for the Compliance Solutions Championship, the third of four season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
• Four players who began the week outside the top 120 of the Korn Ferry Tour Points List made the cut:
  • No. 137 Bio Kim (T2/-9) – projected No. 72
  • No. 124 Mark Goetz (T7/-6) – projected No. 90
  • No. 122 Brandon Hoelzer (T10/-5) – projected No. 102
  • No. 121 Brandon Harkins (T36/-2) – projected No. 120