Shipley, Kohles Chase First Wins at Biltmore Championship

Neal Shipley and Ben Kohles will play Sunday's final round of the Biltmore Championship Asheville together, one shot apart at the top of the leaderboard, each chasing a first PGA Tour win that would change the direction of his career.

What is at stake for Neal Shipley?

Shipley, 25, became a national figure at the 2024 Masters, where he won low-amateur honors, played the final round alongside Tiger Woods and appeared in Netflix's "Full Swing." He turned pro, won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour to finish fourth in that circuit's standings, and arrived on the PGA Tour last year with a card already in hand.

The rookie season did not go as planned. Shipley missed nine of his first 10 cuts, made only eight of 20 starts overall and had no top-25 finish before this week, leaving him 183rd in the FedEx Cup standings. Without a big result before the RSM Classic in mid-November, he faced a return to the Korn Ferry Tour for 2027.

Three rounds at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, including a Friday 62, have put that math on hold. Shipley takes a one-shot lead into Sunday, 18 holes from a win that would move him to 74th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and lock in a two-year exemption.

Why is Ben Kohles still chasing his first win?

Kohles, 36, has matched Shipley shot for shot, following rounds of 65-63-65 into second place at 20 under. The journeyman has been a runner-up before in painful fashion. Two years ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, he arrived at the par-5 72nd hole with a one-shot lead and made his only bogey of the day, handing the title to Taylor Pendrith. In July at the John Deere Classic, he again held the 72nd-hole lead before finding the water on 18, opening the door for Chris Gotterup.

Kohles enters the week 96th in the FedEx Cup standings and 17th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, where the top 20 earn PGA Tour cards for 2027. A win in Asheville would settle his card question on either tour.

"Attack. Keep the pedal down." — Ben Kohles

Eric Cole and Ricky Castillo are the closest pursuers, four shots back at 17 under entering the final round. Shipley and Kohles will play in the last group off the first tee, with the rest of the Biltmore Championship field looking to close the gap on a soft setup that has yielded low scores all week.

How did each player get to Sunday's final group?

Shipley's path ran through the amateur ranks and two Korn Ferry Tour wins before a difficult rookie season forced him to fight for his card almost every week. Kohles has taken a longer road, building a habit of getting into contention on Sundays without yet finishing the job, including the two 72nd-hole collapses at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and John Deere Classic.

For Shipley, Sunday is a chance to turn a lost rookie year into a career-altering result. For Kohles, it is a third shot at closing out a 72nd-hole lead after two finishes that ended in the water and a bogey.