Austin Smotherman off to good start at The Ascendant as he chases third Korn Ferry win of the season ...Saudi Arabia

BERTHOUD — Austin Smotherman had a pretty special month of June on the Korn Ferry Tour, and he’s looking to carry that momentum into July.

After winning twice on the Korn Ferry Tour during a three-week stretch last month to jump to the top of the points standings, the California native who now resides in Texas learned just a few days ago that his points total was high enough to secure his PGA Tour card with almost half of the Korn Ferry season still to be played.

The top 20 in the points standings at the end of the season earn their PGA Tour card. Smotherman can finish no lower than 20th.

With the pressure of finishing the season in the top 20 gone, Smotherman still has goals. One of which is to win his third tournament of the season, which will make him eligible to join the PGA Tour the next week.

His first chance to win that third tournament is this weekend’s The Ascendant at TPC Colorado, and he is still on a bit of a high from learning there won’t be quite as much pressure on him the rest of the Korn Ferry season.

“We had kind of crunched a few numbers on our own, kind of had a good sense after winning two tournaments that we’d be going back to the PGA Tour,” Smotherman said. “But getting word through the official channels feels pretty good. It’s what we worked for all year, and to be able to lock it up and have that announced in July when we play for another three months almost, it’s a pretty good feeling.”

This weekend’s tournament is Smotherman’s third time playing the TPC Colorado course. He played it in 2019 and 2020 when the event was known as the Colorado TPC Championship, though he missed the cut both times.

After finishing the 2020 Korn Ferry season 25th in the points standings, he spent the next two seasons on the PGA Tour full-time. Last year, he played 16 PGA Tour events and 11 on the Korn Ferry.

Smotherman credits his recent success to a putter change and the familiarity of some of the courses he had played on before. Back at TPC Colorado for a third time, he hopes the trend of doing well on familiar courses continues.

He is off to a good start, shooting a 3-under-par 69 in Thursday’s opening round, two strokes off the lead. He was ready to tee off on No. 18 when lightning delayed the tournament for more than two hours. He finished his round with a par on the hole and a 69 on the day.

“Two missed greens on the par threes were my two bogeys on the front nine,” he said. “Chipped it to nine feet, chipped it to six feet and decent putts that just didn’t go in. But I need to be hitting those greens and just making easy threes and move on, because there’s enough birdie holes out here.”

Before the first weather delay, a few groups did make it into the clubhouse, including one that included Ross Steelman and 2022 Ascendant champion Zecheng Dou.

The pair teed off on the 18th hole tied for the early lead at 6 under. But the weather was quickly approaching and the wind picked up considerably.

Dou made a 6 on the par-4 hole while Steelman salvaged a 5 after spending a good amount of time hunting for an errant tee shot.

“Eighteen might be the hardest hole on the planet right now,” Steelman said. “The wind is going like 30 straight into the tee. I smoked a drive and had 255 in, and I think yesterday in the Pro-Am, I had like 170. With it playing so much in the way, and then it being a long hole already, it’s just a tight fairway.

“Once you’re off it, you’re pretty much just laying it up. I was very excited to walk away with a five.”

The bogey on 18 was one of only two holes in which he didn’t make par or better. He also had a 5 on the par-4 No. 4. He had four birdies on the front nine and three on the back, including one on the par-5, 692-yard 13th.

Dou’s first day left him in a good spot as he chases his second Ascendant title. With an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole, he was 5 under through six holes.

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He made the turn at 5 under and was 6 under when he teed off on 18, but the wind played havoc in the air and on the green. His 6 on the hole left him at 4 under and one stroke behind Steelman.

The initial weather delay pushed the tee times of the second wave of golfers back more than two hours, so many will have to complete their rounds Friday morning. Another lightning delay just after 4 p.m. assured that will be the scenario.

Of the golfers who were able to complete their rounds before the second delay, Michael Johnson and Ian Holt matched Steelman’s 67. Cody Black equaled Dou’s 68 and Smotherman was one of five golfers from the first wave to finish with a 69.

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