Provence fires 63 in third round of OccuNet Classic, Fischer leads at 13 under

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The OccuNet Classic moved into its third round Friday with the field narrowing after Thursday’s cut.

Amarillo’s Wyatt Provence was the first player on the course, teeing off solo at 6:40 a.m. The Amarillo native posted eight birdies, including four on his final eight holes. He closed round three with a seven-under 63 and sat at seven under par overall.

John Daly II got off to a strong start in round three, recording three birdies on the front nine to make the turn at one under. The back nine proved tougher as double bogeys on holes 11 and 15 halted his momentum. Daly finished the day with a three-over 73 and sits at one over for the tournament.

Zack Fischer fired an eight-under 62, carding eight birdies and an eagle to climb to 13 under for the tournament. He closed strong with five birdies on the back nine to take the lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

Provence said making the cut took pressure off his round.

“Definitely took a lot of pressure off making the cut and I was just going in gonna enjoy the day and just see what I could do,” Provence said. “Got some putts to go in, hit the ball really good again so it was nice.”

Provence said he plans to enjoy the final round.

“I think it’s gonna be the same thing as today, just go out and enjoy it,” Provence said. “Opportunities like this don’t come often so just going out and enjoying it and playing my game.”

Daly said two bad swings on the back nine cost him.

“I got off to a good start, I was two under then just made two bad swings on the back nine on 11 and 12,” Daly said. “Other than that just three-putted from like six feet but it was solid, just a little too sloppy.”

Daly said his goal is to finish in the top 25.

“Probably getting that top 25 and hopefully be able to play the next one, that’s really the only goal now,” Daly said.

Daly said he appreciated the crowd support.

“When I’m playing good it’s awesome because you got the crowd behind you but they were still great today even when I started slowing down so I really appreciate the support,” Daly said. “The adrenaline you kind of get when I made that putt, it’s really cool to hear everybody cheering and that’s probably one of my favorite things, to get everybody really excited and motivated to cheer.”

Fischer said he would love to win on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“I would love to say that I was actually a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour and maybe tomorrow’s the day, maybe it’s not,” Fischer said. “I’m just gonna hopefully put as many check marks on my yardage book as possible and if it adds up to a win, great. But as long as I stay committed in my shots, we’ll see what happens.”