Charting the leader (stats entering week)

John VanDerLaan (first/-13) 

• Follows a second-round, even-par 71 with 4-under 67 via five birdies against one bogey, highlighted by four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the front-nine (Nos. 3, 4, 6, 7)
• Hit 17 out of 18 Greens in Regulation, aside from his final hole – the par-4 18th – where he recorded his only bogey of Round 3
• Leads the field with 20 birdies through three rounds
• Tied the course record in Round 1 with 9-under 62 to match David Lingmerth – the 2022 champion of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship – for the tournament-low 18-hole score 
• Holds the fourth 54-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career (most recent: 2025 The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island/finished T9)
• Best finish in five previous starts at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is T35/2024 
• Stands No. 52 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List off the strength of eight top-25s in 22 starts, highlighted by his lone top-10 in the season-opening event 
• Previously finished No. 63 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, maintaining fully exempt status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season with his fourth consecutive top 75 finish on the Points List (No. 53/2020-21, No. 47/2022, No. 42/2023, No. 63/2024) 
• Finished T7 at Final Stage of the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry) to earn guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and secure membership for what became the 2020-21 season 
• Played four seasons collegiately at Florida Southern College (2014-18), where he was a four-time All-American and named the 2018 Jack Nicklaus Award winner for NCAA Division II; he earned seven individual wins as a senior, with the crown jewel being the individual national title at the 2018 NCAA Division II Championship  

Trent Phillips (second/-12)

• Follows a second-round 5-under 66 with 3-under 68 to trail leader John VanDerLaan by one stroke heading into the final round of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
• Establishes a career-high 54-hole position, surpassing his previous mark set at the 2024 Veritex Bank Championship, where he stood T3 through three rounds before finishing third
• Marks his second time inside the top 10 through 54 holes this season, the other coming at the NV5 Invitational, where he stood T4 and finished T9 for his second top-10 of the year
• Making his third appearance at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship (T42/2023, MC/2024)
• Recorded his best finish of the season with a T7 at last week’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation – the first Finals event of 2025 – improving to No. 53 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• Owns six top-25 finishes in 23 starts this season, highlighted by three top-10s, including two in his last five starts (T9/NV5 Invitational, T7/Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation)
• Currently in his third Korn Ferry Tour season, and has finished inside the top 75 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List each of the last two seasons, placing No. 33 in 2024 and No. 58 as a rookie in 2023
• Earned conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2023 season via a T59 finish at the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry)
• Finished No. 8 in the Class of 2022 PGA TOUR University Ranking to earn status on PGA TOUR Canada (now PGA TOUR Americas) where he captured five top-10s in eight starts and finished No. 13 in the Fortinet Cup standings
• Named to the All-America First Team in 2020 and 2022, making him the fifth two-time All-America First Team selection in school history, joining Davis Thompson (2020, 2021), Lee McCoy (2015, 2016), Chris Kirk (2006, 2007), and Chip Beck (1977, 1978)
• Played four seasons at University of Georgia (2018-22), garnering three All-America selections, four All-Southeastern Conference First Team honors, winning three individual titles, and finishing No. 8 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022

Additional notes

• Chandler Blanchet (third/-10), who is No. 9 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List off the strength of his win at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Hiland Dairy Foods, rebounds from a second-round 1-over 72 with 4-under 67 to sit inside the top 10 through 54 holes for the sixth time this season; he has converted four of those six into T12-or-better finishes, including his victory.
• Jeffrey Kang (T4/-9) bogeys his final two holes for 5-under 66, highlighted by a 165-yard hole-out eagle with a 9-iron at the par-4 seventh, and stands inside the top five through 54 holes for the third time this season; most recently held the third-round co-lead at the 2025 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron, finishing runner-up for the second time this season (NV5 Invitational).
• Three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Zecheng Dou (T4/-9) posts his best 54-hole position since the 2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, where he stood T2 through three rounds and finished solo-third en route to earning his PGA TOUR card with a No. 4 finish on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Points List.
• 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. 130
  • No. 124 Mark Goetz (T7/-6) – projected No. 114
  • No. 122 Brandon Hoelzer (T10/-5) – projected No. 120
  • No. 121 Brandon Harkins (T36/-2) – projected No. 121