Zack Sucher leads the Web.com Midwest Classic by 3 shots going into final round

Zack Sucher plays with one eye on the leaderboard.

“There’s no way I could ever not know,” he said. “I like to know too much. I’m very curious out there how everyone else is playing.”

But Saturday in the third round of the Midwest Classic at Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate, he didn’t need to look at the leaderboard to know how well he was playing. He heard it from the large crowd that followed him to every hole and even from those watching and cheering loudly from houses on the course.

Sucher, 27, from Birmingham, Ala., shot a 7-under 64 Saturday for a total of 20-under par and a 3-shot lead on his closest competition.

Sucher started with a double bogey on No. 1 but it didn’t slow him down. He finished the front nine with a birdie and then birdied No. 10. He had a stretch of four straight birdies on Nos. 12-15.

“Definitely not the start I was looking for,” he said.

He took solace in the fact that he leads the Web.com Tour in birdies, something his caddie reminded him of after his double-bogey on No. 1.

“After that, I just putted really well,” he said.

His closest competition is Aaron Watkins, a former Kansas State golfer, who sits alone in second place at 17-under 196. Watkins, who is originally from Winter Park, Fl., was 10-under heading into the third round with scores of 67 and 65 after the first two days of the tournament.

Watkins, 32, also shot a 7-under 64 Saturday with seven birdies.

“The back nine I kind of told myself I was going to hit it a little firmer. I was just leaving everything short,” He said. “Then I got on the back and drove it well, was able to put myself in position and started holing some putts.”

Sucher was paired with Jason Gore, 40, who entered the third round at 11-under. After a 3-under 68 on Saturday, Gore sits alone in third place with a 14-under 199.

Korbin Kuehn, 24, a former Blue Valley West and UMKC golfer, entered the day at 2-under par after scores of 66 and 74 in the first two rounds. He shot a 5-under 66 Saturday to bring his score to 7-under 206 for the tournament.

He made four birdies and one eagle before bogeying No. 15.

“I played well all day,” he said. “I made the stupid bogey on 15, just a bad shot onto the green, but I played well all day. The putts didn’t quite all fall but I made a couple of them. It was nice.”

Play was delayed 50 minutes because of rain. Kuehn said he took a few practice shots during the delay but didn’t think it had any effect on his game.

Kuehn, a member at LionsGate, is playing in his second Midwest Classic and just the second Web.com Tour event of his career. He missed the cut last year in his professional debut but with a year of experience under his belt, he is feeling more relaxed this time around.

The first 60 of the tournament was scored in Saturday’s third round by Tom Hoge, 25, of Fargo, N.D., a former TCU golfer. Hoge entered the day at 1-under par, the cut number after Friday’s second round, with scores of 70 and 71. On Saturday he made 11 birdies and had only two putts that were longer than 10 feet. Hoge had eight bogeys in the first two rounds but none in the third round.

Fifty players on the Web.com Tour will earn PGA Tour cards at the end of the season, including the top 25 players on the money list and the top 25 finishers in the season’s final four tournaments.

Sucher is currently ranked 20th on the money list with $139,318. He has played in 16 events this season. His best tournament came just a week prior to the Midwest Classic in the Boise Open when he finished tied for fourth place, earning $33,066.66.

Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle, who is trying to earn his way back to the PGA Tour after his second bout with leukemia in 2012, was at 6-under to start the day. Saturday started out rough for him with three bogeys on the front nine, but he followed up with three birdies and an eagle on No. 18 to be among three other golfers tied for 23rd at 9-under.

The final round of the Midwest Classic will tee off at 8 a.m. on Sunday.

This story was originally published July 26, 2014 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Zack Sucher leads the Web.com Midwest Classic by 3 shots going into final round."