Perkins leads after strong third round at Diners Club Peru

LIMA, Peru – David Perkins carded a 7-under 65 Saturday and leads by one at 17-under entering the final round of the PGA TOUR Americas Diners Club Peru Open. Joining Perkins in Sunday’s final group at Los Inkas Golf Club will be Hunter Wolcott and Taylor Funk, who trail by one and two strokes, respectively.

Perkins’ pedigree extends well beyond the 18 PGA TOUR-sanctioned starts on his record entering this week. In his second season as a professional, he captured his first pro win at the 2022 Illinois Open, and he has since added three victories on the Minor League Golf Tour.

As an amateur, the Illinois State product was ranked as high as No. 32 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and he finished runner-up to current TOUR members Davis Thompson (2020 Jones Cup) and Mac Meissner (2020 Southern Amateur) in premier amateur events.

Perkins leads by two over Funk, whose pedigree is also much more than his PGA TOUR Americas record might suggest. The 29-year-old is the son of eight-time PGA TOUR winner Fred Funk, who is making his 1,000th TOUR-sanctioned start this week at the Insperity Invitational on PGA TOUR Champions.

In his 56th TOUR-sanctioned start, Taylor is building on his performance at last week’s Kia Open, where he finished T13 and moved to 43rd in the Fortinet Cup.

Rounding out Sunday’s final threesome will be Wolcott, who sits just one stroke behind Perkins after a bogey-free 66 on Saturday.