The Ascendant presented by Blue is ready for a sprint to the finish

Two players have strong leads over the field going into final round

By Jim Bebbington

With one day to go in the Ascendent Presented by Blue Korn Ferry Tour stop being played in Berthoud, players finally took the upper hand Saturday to set up a sprint to the finish.

Saturday provided a full day of gorgeous weather and allowed several players to finish their Friday rounds, then the field that made the cut took on the rain-softened course for a perfect afternoon.

The rain-softened greens were ripe for plunder, and two players set themselves apart from the rest. Ross Steelman shot a course record 63 at TPC Colorado Saturday afternoon, leading after Saturday at 17 under par for the tournament so far. He had two eagles, six birdies and no bogeys until the 18th hole.

Steelman was among the players who started Saturday with several holes left to complete from their Friday rounds.

“I came out this morning and played awful for like four holes,” he said. “It was cold. Then I went back to the hotel, took a nap, reset and came back out and just was in a better mood. Never really had the feeling like this is special, I just kept kind of doing everything like the simple things well and just kind of kept plodding along with it.”

As he goes into Sunday’s final round with $180,000 first-place money on the line, he said he’s learned in his career so far to expect nerves at the beginning and end of the round. “Yeah, it’s going to be a little nervy the first hole and then it’s going to be a little nervy the last couple, and then when you feel the nerves, kind of just tell myself like, hey, man, you’re just whacking the ball around here, it’s not that deep,” he said. ” Just try and execute the process, kind of one foot after the other and just kind of go about it.”

Kevin Dougherty, in second at 14-under, started relatively slowly then sunk a 30-yard pitch shot on the 363-yard par 4 6th hole. All three players in his group – Connor Jones of Westminster, 2022 Ascendant winner Dou Zecheng and him – nearly drove the green and had very similar pitches. Jones and Zecheng went first and rolled short, and Dougherty put a little more gas on his shot to hole it.

He also shot a 63, tying the course record.

Dougherty said after three days affected by Thursday’s chaotic weather and cancellations, he’s hopeful to be able to focus Sunday on one normal, efficient round.

“(I hope to) stay in the present,” he said. “Everyone’s always trying to see the future. It will get there, like we’ll get to that 18th green at some point tomorrow. Something that I’ve worked on is kind of some tactics or like kind of mindfulness ways to stay present and that’s kind of going to be the main focus.”

Connor Jones, who played at Colorado State University through 2024, had one start on the PGA Tour last season, making the cut in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. He made the cut this weekend and followed that up Saturday with an efficient round of 3-under par. He begins Sunday at 8-under tied for 20th place.

Neal Shipley, who rose to fame in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, drew crowds throughout the day and stands at 10-under par in 9th place.