Walsh takes commanding Fortinet Cup Championship lead

KITCHENER, Ontario— Earlier in the week, Thomas Walsh described having two different seasons this year. His 2022 campaign began in 2021 with success in Q-School that resulted in Walsh earning Korn Ferry Tour status. Although he had good momentum going into the year, as the season progressed, the 26-year-old from High Point, North Carolina, and current Jacksonville, Florida, resident, felt he was so far behind the proverbial eight ball that to stay and try to get into Korn Ferry Tour tournaments wasn’t the best option.

After playing in 15 Korn Ferry Tour events and making six cuts, Walsh opted to “rebuild his golf game midseason” and began playing on PGA TOUR Canada. By his own admission, he has played “pretty phenomenally.”

A move north proved beneficial as Walsh has placed second twice and third once in his five tournaments since the end of July.

Now, Walsh is on the cusp of winning the Fortinet Cup Championship and securing once again Korn Ferry Tour membership. At 11-under through 54 holes, he holds a four-shot lead over Wil Bateman at Deer Ridge Golf Club.

Walsh had four birdies and one bogey Saturday to distance himself on the leaderboard.

“I think it just means that I’ve played well, and I’ve played consistent,” Walsh said. “I’ve just waited it out, trying to let birdies come to me. I hit every fairway today.”

After making 10 consecutive pars to start his day, Walsh then reeled off all of his birdies in succession. He bogeyed the 15th hole and then parred in.

Those in closest pursuit weren’t as fortunate. Bateman (7-under) had five birdies and an eagle but was stymied by five bogeys. Joe Highsmith, Jeffrey Kang and Scott Stevens, who are tied for third at 6-under, had some ups and downs as well.

Highsmith birdied five holes. However, he also had two bogeys and a double bogey on his way to a 1-under 69.

“Hopefully I can tighten things up a little bit,” Highsmith said as he prepares to begin the final round five behind Walsh.

Kang had better results. He climbed back into contention with five birdies and an eagle. The Californian bogeyed just one hole while moving up 15 positions.

Stevens, who entered the round one stroke behind Walsh, had double bogeys on No. 6 and No. 7. By round’s end, Stevens netted four birdies to stay in the hunt, shooting a 1-over 71.

“I had to fight for sure. Really, I just hit two bad shots. One was in the water on the par-3 and I hit it in a bad spot on seven. I played really well after that. I settled down,” Stevens said. “I slowed down a little bit. To be able to fight back and stay in the golf tournament was huge. I take a lot of confidence from that.”

Sunday’s finale will be accompanied by the awarding of several accolades. For starters, the tournament champion will receive $40,500 and 600 Fortinet Cup points. The latter will likely go a long way in determining the overall Fortinet Cup champion, who will receive a $25,000 bonus, 2023 Korn Ferry Tour membership and an invite to the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open next summer.

Walsh is in position to possibly grab both titles, but winning the Fortinet Cup Championship is a must, the only part of the points chase that he can control.

“It would mean a lot, obviously. That wasn’t my goal coming up here. I didn’t even have that intention. I was just trying to play some golf and get ready for (Korn Ferry Tour) Q-School,” he said. “I feel good about my game. I feel confident in what I’m doing.”

Even so, Walsh is eager to get on the first fairway Sunday. Then it’s all about giving himself, as he says, birdie looks, tap-ins for pars to “get a little stretch going. The rest will take care of itself, hopefully,” he added.

Did you know Wil Bateman is trying to become the second Canadian to win PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year? Tied for second in the Fortinet Cup standings and alone in second place in the Fortinet Cup Championship with 18 holes remaining, Bateman, the winner earlier this year in his hometown of Edmonton, has a great shot of joining Mackenzie Hughes (2013) with that honor.