Pierceson Coody remains in the lead at the ISCO Championship, extending his advantage to one stroke after shooting a 68 (-4) on Saturday at Keene Trace’s Champions Course. Coody, the grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody, now has a 20-under 196 total. He is being chased by Harry Hall of England and Rico Hoey of the Philippines, who are tied for second at 19-under. Coody, who is seeking his first PGA Tour victory, will be looking to hold off his challengers in the final round on Sunday.Pierceson Coody remains in the lead at the ISCO Championship, extending his advantage to one stroke after shooting a 68 (-4) on Saturday at Keene Trace’s Champions Course. Coody, the grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody, now has a 20-under 196 total. He is being chased by Harry Hall of England and Rico Hoey of the Philippines, who are tied for second at 19-under. Coody, who is seeking his first PGA Tour victory, will be looking to hold off his challengers in the final round on Sunday.
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Pierceson Coody is atop the ISCO Championship standings for the third straight day, shooting a 68 (-4) Saturday after a slow start to open a one-stroke lead.
After playing the first nine holes with three birdies and three bogeys, Coody made an eagle on the par-5 11th hole, hitting a shot of 225 yards from 6 feet. He also added birdies on the par-5 15th hole and the par-4 17th hole.
“The front nine, just a couple of things didn’t go my way,” said Coody, the 24-year-old grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody. “I didn’t quite hit the way I wanted to, and I got into some tough situations.
“But on every hole you feel like you can get a birdie with one good shot, so I just tried to keep that attitude and luckily a couple of good bounces and a couple of good putts on the last nine holes got me back in it.”
He had a 20-under 196 total on Keene Trace’s Champions Course in the tournament that was jointly sanctioned by the PGA and European tours. Harry Hall of England and Rico Hoey of the Philippines tied for second place.
Coody opened with rounds of 61 and 67 in pursuit of his first victory in his 27th PGA Tour appearance.
“Every shot counts and I definitely want to be the front runner,” Coody said. “I definitely know how important every shot is. My whole goal is to get myself back in the tournament, get myself ready to shoot a 7-, 8-under round and finish it off as good as I can.”
Hall and Hoey are also winless on the PGA Tour. Hall shot a bogey-free 64.
“The greens have become so firm today compared to the beginning of the week that there may not be a shootout tomorrow,” Hall said.
Hoey made a bogey on the par-4 18th hole for a score of 67. He had played 53 holes without a bogey.
“I’m very excited,” Hoey said. “I know I’m going to be very nervous. It’s a new situation that I’ve never been in before.”
Sam Bairstow (62), Neal Shipley (66) and Johannes Veerman (67) were two strokes behind at 18 under, with Lanto Griffin (67) and Chez Reavie (69) at 17 under.
Shipley was the lowest-ranked amateur at the Masters and US Open. He is making his third PGA Tour start as a professional.
Luke Clanton was tied for 34th at 12 under par after shooting a 69. Last week, the Florida State sophomore tied for second at the John Deere Classic to become the first amateur since 1958 to finish in the top 10 in consecutive PGA Tour-sanctioned starts.
