Australian Karl Vilips is one round away from claiming a maiden PGA Tour victory as he leads the $US4 million Puerto Rico Open by one shot, while Jason Day is in contention at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
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In just his third start in his debut season on the PGA Tour, Vilips has fired rounds of 65, 67 and 66 to sit -18, one shot clear of American Joseph Bramlett and South African amateur Kieron van Wyk.
The 23-year-old has been making waves in the men’s professional golf landscape as last month he was chosen by Tiger Woods to be an ambassador for his Sun Day Red clothing label.
Vilips poised to strike in Puerto Rico | 04:04
Vilips attended the same college as the 15-time major champion, Stanford University in California, and his career has moved in fast forward since graduating and turning professional last year.
He won just his fourth event as a professional, on the Korn Ferry Tour, after finishing runner-up the week prior and those results helped him progress from the secondary US Tour to the PGA Tour despite only playing ten tournaments for the season.
“I don’t feel that surprised,” Vilips said when he asked if was surprised by his hot start to his professional career.
“I feel like my game’s gotten a lot better over the years. I think playing so much out of college and on the Korn Ferry and then just a lot of competitive golf, it just has sharpened me up a lot. I’ve been really true to the process and seeing it pay off so far at the moment is nice.”
It has been an astronomical rise for the Melbourne born, West Australian who first attracted the attention of the golf world as ‘Koala Karl’ on YouTube.
Vilips’ father, Paul, posted videos of practice sessions as well as clips from junior tournaments and more than 40,000 subscribers jumped on board to follow the journey which has taken him to the PGA Tour.
Unfortunately, his maiden campaign started a little later than expected due to a bulging disc in his back, which was realised after experiencing pain during a return home to play in the Australian Open, but Vilips is now making up for lost time.
“It was tough. There were courses that I was looking forward to playing to start the season,” he said.
Day breaks down his brilliant round | 03:15
“It was pretty tough news to hear back last year, especially when you’re excited to get your card and you can’t play the first few events. But dealt with it, it is what it is, and just tried to get ready for when I could play.”
Vilips has also dealt with stomach issues in Puerto Rico this week as he tries to become the first Australian since Cam Davis at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last year to triumph on the PGA Tour.
“Feeling pretty good with the position I’m in. I wish my stomach felt a little bit better, but it is what it is. You’ve got one more day, just battle through it,” he said.
“I’ve lost a lot of weight this week. I don’t know what’s going on, just like it feels like it’s shrinking on me.”
Meanwhile, one day after shooting the lowest round at Bay Hill since 2021, Jason Day sits three shots off the lead heading into the final round.
Day did not reach the heights of his second round 64 on Saturday but fought back impressively to finish the round in fourth behind leader Collin Morikawa, second-placed Russell Henley and third-placed Corey Conners.
The Australian bogeyed seven, eight and nine to reach the turn one-over for the day, but clawed back the momentum late in his round with a hat-trick of birdies at 16, 17 and 18 to reach three-under for the round and -7 overall.
Playing the closing holes in such brilliant fashion bodes well for his bid for a 14th PGA Tour title and his first since the AT&T Byron Nelson.
If Day, can produce some Sunday afternoon heroics, it would be the second time he has triumphed at ‘Arnie’s place’ after winning the same event in 2016.
“Nine years is a long time,” Day said post-round.
“I feel really good with my putter right now. At the start of the year, I actually hit it pretty good and I putted quite poorly.
“I got a little too technical there for a moment and now I’m getting back to just playing golf.”
Countrymen Adam Scott shot his best round of the tournament so far with a two-under par 70 taking him to +1 overall in a tie for 27th.
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