Ross Steelman makes 2 eagles and matches TPC Colorado course record to take 3-stroke lead into final round of The Ascendant; Westminster’s Connor Jones on track to earn spot in next week’s Korn Ferry Tour event
By Gary Baines – 7/12/2025
BERTHOUD — In Saturday’s third round of The Ascendant presented by Blue, there were 13 eagles made at TPC Colorado, 290 birdies recorded, two course-record-matching scores …
And there may have been a partridge in a pear tree, but we’re not sure about that.
In the end, Ross Steelman of Johns Creek, Ga., who shot one of the course-record matching scores of 9-under-par 63 at TPC Colorado despite bogeying the final hole, recorded two eagles on the day en route to grabbing a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round.
Also matching the course and tournament single-round standard was the man in second place, Kevin Dougherty of Dallas, who eagled the par-4 sixth hole and went bogey-free in round 3.
For the record, Saturday marked the sixth and seventh times 63 has been shot at The Ascendant during its seven-year history — and the second time it’s been done twice in the same round (previously by Chase Johnson and Greyson Sigg in the final round in 2020.
This time around, as the final round awaits, neither of the top two players on the leaderboard has won a Korn Ferry Tour event before.
“It’s going to be a little nervy the first hole and then it’s going to be a little nervy the last couple,” Steelman said. “And then when you feel the nerves, (I’ll) kind of just tell myself, ‘Hey, man, you’re just whacking the ball around here; it’s not that deep. … Kind of one foot after the other and just kind of go about it.”
If nothing else, Steelman and Dougherty on Sunday will relish not having to wake up brutally early to begin play at TPC Colorado after having done so earlier in the tournament due to lightning delays and 6:45 a.m. starts. Steelman and Dougherty are scheduled to tee off for Sunday’s final round at 12:45 p.m.
“Waking up not at 4 a.m.; that’s going to be nice sleeping a little later,” Steelman said.
“It’s been a long couple days,” Dougherty added. “I’ve had a couple 4 a.m. wake-up calls. I had one Thursday, and then .. I had a 6:45 restart (Saturday) and then finished that up and then played another 18. It will be nice to sleep in tomorrow and have some good weather.”
Steelman signs an autograph for a young fan on Saturday.
Steelman, a 24-year-old who played his college golf at Georgia Tech, eagled the first hole from 30 feet in round 3, and the 15th from 4 feet. He added six birdies and went into the last hole 10 under par for the day. But on that tough par-4, he drove it into the left rough and couldn’t muscle his approach past the fairway bunker roughly 50 yards short of the green. And though he had a 10-foot putt to save his par, it missed, and he had to “settle” for a 63.
“From holes 3 through 17, I had it outside of 10 for birdie maybe once or twice,” he said. “I hit it really well.”
Steelman followed up his eagle on 15 with a 10-foot birdie on 16 and a 2-foot birdie on 17.
Ironically, Steelman had to finish his second round early Saturday morning “and played awful for like four holes. Then I went back to the hotel, took a nap, reset and came back out and just was in a better mood” for round 3.
Asked the toughest thing he faces in Sunday’s final round, Steelman said, “I don’t know. Golf’s pretty f-ing hard, so just try and hit it. The hardest thing’s probably hitting it in the hole. I have no idea.”
Kevin Dougherty coaxes in a birdie putt on the 16th hole.
Dougherty, a 34-year-old from Dallas who played on the PGA Tour full time last year, carded an eagle and seven birdies on Saturday, with three of those birdies in the last four holes.
“The PGA Tour taught me to not compare myself to other people,” he said. “I heard Rogan on a podcast say ‘comparison is the thief of joy’; I think Teddy Roosevelt said it (originally). It couldn’t be more true. I definitely fell into that last year. I mean I’m hitting balls next to Rory (McIlroy) and Scottie (Scheffler) on certain weeks, and then guys who have played eight, nine seasons out there without even losing their card, and you kind of start to compare yourself your first year out there. It kind of took quite a bit of the love of the game away. I was like ‘I’m not as good as these guys.’ It was just kind of beating on me rather than focusing on my own journey.”
Among those chasing Steelman and Dougherty on Sunday will be the guys tied for third at 13 under par — four back of Steelman: Jorge Fernandez Valdes of Argentina, who won a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2023, and Ian Holt of Mount Pleasant, S.C. Valdes posted a 65 on Saturday and Holt a 68.
Connor Jones pitches in for birdie on his opening hole Saturday.
Coloradan Connor Jones Remains in Top 20: Before this week, Westminster resident Connor Jones had never before competed in a Korn Ferry Tour event.
With some more continued good play on Sunday at The Ascendant, there’s a good chance he’ll tee it up in two KFT tournaments in a row.
After shooting a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday, the former Colorado State University golfer stands at 8 under par overall. And perhaps more importantly, he’s in 20th place. If he finishes in the top 25 on Sunday, he’ll automatically earn a spot in next week’s Korn Ferry Tour stop, the Price Cutter Charity Championship in Springfield, Mo.
“Top 25 would be great,” the 23-year-old former CGA Player of the Year said on Saturday evening. “At the beginning of the week, I was trying to do better than top 25, but I think that’s a great goal — to try to go out there and get in next week.
“I’ll try to hit the first fairway tomorrow and see what happens. I know my game is there if I play good.”
Jones, the 2024 Elite Amateur Series men’s champion, made his PGA Tour debut last fall, making the cut and finishing 65th at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. But his Korn Ferry Tour debut didn’t come until this week, after he Monday qualified with a 63 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie.
Jones watches his drive go into the right rough on the 17th hole.
On Saturday, he continued his good play at a TPC Colorado course he has played oh so often as he chipped in for birdie from 40 feet after hitting his approach shot over the green.
“I had some adrenaline going for the first nine holes,” he said. “I was hitting it too far. I had 105 yards (for his approach on No. 1) and flew the green. But that was a good way to start” by pitching in for birdie.
As it was, Jones turned it another steady but impressive round — for which he’s known — very much limiting mistakes. In fact, when he bogeyed the 11th hole on Saturday, it ended a streak of 36 holes with nothing worse than pars.
“I think that’s kind of my game,” he said. “I’m pretty steady. I try to limit the bogeys as much as I can. But that’s a lot of holes (bogey-free); that’s good for me. I’ll take it.”
All told, Jones carded five birdies and two bogeys in round 3. For the week, he’s made 12 birdies and four bogeys.
On Saturday, though he had a crowd of 30-40 friends, family and fans following him, Jones was a bit overshadowed by his playing partners. Kevin Dougherty matched the course and tournament record with a 63. And 2022 Ascendant champion Marty Dou played his first five holes in 5 under par — making a 12-foot eagle on the par-4 third after driving the green — and then finished his round by holing out from just over 100 yards for birdie on No. 18, with his ball spinning back into the hole after hitting 15 feet beyond the cup.
My round “was good (but) I felt like I kind of got left behind by the guys in my group,” Jones said. “It was awesome (being paired with them). They were both real nice guys; both were very generous and nice to me. I enjoyed watching both of them. I thought they were great players.”
36-hole co-leader Tom Whitney found the deep stuff early in Saturday’s round.
Meanwhile, former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney started the final round tied for the lead but ended it nine strokes behind and tied with Jones for 20th place. He posted a 2-over-par 74 in round 3.
In round 3, Whitney made the only double bogey (or worse) on the par-5 fifth hole — which played the easiest on the course on Saturday. And overall he played the par-5s in 2 over par. He finished the day with four birdies, four bogeys and the double bogey. Only one player in the top 59 on The Ascendant’s 54-hole scoreboard (Nicolo Galletti, who was in the same threesome as Whitney on Saturday) shot as high — or higher — than the former Falcon did.
Former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park made the cut on Saturday.
As for the third player with some significant Colorado connections who made the 36-hole cut, former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park stands in 54th place at 2 under par overall after carding an even-par 72 in round 3. He needed to go 3 under par in his final five holes on Saturday to manage that 72.
The Unkindest Cut: A couple of players with major Colorado ties narrowly missed the 36-hole cut on Saturday morning as 2 under par overall was necessary to advance to the final two rounds (low 65 players and ties).
Zahkai Brown of Golden, who is playing tournament golf semi-regularly again after working as a mechanic for a time, missed the cut by one despite playing his final five holes in 2 under par. But with a 2-over 38 on his front nine in round 2 — he opened on the back at TPC Colorado — he dug himself a bit of a hole. Birdies on holes 5 and 8 (his 14th and 17th) helped the cause, but the 2013 Colorado Open champion came up one shot shy — at 1 under par after rounds of 71-72.
Chris Korte was among those who narrowly missed the cut on Saturday morning.
Chris Korte, who grew up in Littleton, was in very good position to make the cut as he was 5 under for the round — and 4 under overall — through 12 holes of the second round. But the former CGA Match Play and CGA Amateur champion went 4 over for his last six holes and carded a double bogey on No. 18 to miss the cut by two. He finished even par overall.
Cheyenne native Josh Creel missed the cut by three after playing his final four holes of round 2 in 3 over par.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Brayden Forte of Aurora, who qualified for The Ascendant last weekend with a 64 in the sponsor-exemption qualifying tournament at TPC Colorado, rebounded nicely in round 2 after opening with a 77. The 2025 CGA State Junior champion, one of just two amateurs in the field, missed the cut by six, but shot a 1-under-par 71 in the second round. He made four birdies and three bogeys in round 2 and ended up 4 over par overall.
Also missing the cut was the inaugural champion at TPC Colorado, Nelson Ledesma (73-73).
Here are the scores for players with significant Colorado and area ties competing in The Ascendant:
20th (-8). Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney 67-67-74–208
20th (-8). Connor Jones of Westminster 72-67-69—208
54th (-2). Former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park 73-69-72–214
Missed 36-Hole Cut
(-1). Zahkai Brown of Golden 71-72–143
(Even). Former Littleton resident Chris Korte 73-71—144
(+1). Cheyenne native Josh Creel 70-75—145
(+2). Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland 74-72–146
(+4). Amateur Brayden Forte of Aurora 77-71—148
Former champion Marty Dou reacts to holing out from more than 100 yards for birdie on the 18th hole Saturday.
Notable: For what it’s worth, Cristobal Del Solar, who won last year’s Ascendant and secured his 2025 PGA Tour card, sits 174th in the PGA Tour’s season-long FedExCup standings. He’s made eight cuts, but his only top-30 finish came in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event, where he placed 12th while paired with Matteo Manaserro. … Blades Brown, the 18-year-old who Monday qualified into The Ascendant field, needs a 35th-place finish or better to earn special temporary membership for the rest of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season. He currently stands in 60th place (1 under par) after making the 36-hole cut on the number.
For all the scores from The Ascendant, CLICK HERE.
For Sunday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
Not all spectators on Saturday were of the human variety.
****************
2025 Ascendant Presented by Blue: The Essentials
What: The seventh annual Ascendant presented by Blue, a Korn Ferry Tour event.
Where: TPC Colorado in Berthoud.
When: Championship rounds Thursday-Sunday.
Course Set-Up: TPC Colorado will be set up at roughly 8,015 yards and play to a par-72. That includes the 773-yard par-5 13th hole.
Trophy Presentation: On 18th green on Sunday, at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Purse: $1 million, with the winner receiving $180,000.
Junior Activity Area: Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Located between the first green and 14th hole.
Tickets: For ticket information, CLICK HERE. Kids 15 and under admitted free with a ticketed adult. Active-duty U.S. military and retirees — as well as first responders — and their families receive free admission when a valid military ID is presented at a ticket sales window.
Additional Information: For more information regarding The Ascendant presented by Blue, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com