ELKHORN, Neb. – The stage is set for the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season-ending Pinnacle Bank Championship.

With 25 PGA TOUR cards to be awarded upon the conclusion of play Sunday at The Club at Indian Creek outside Omaha, tensions are high and scenarios are beginning to come into somewhat of a picture. Players like Kevin Roy (projected No. 26), Brandon Harkins (projected No. 27) and Akshay Bhatia (projected No. 29) all have a chance to change their fortunes on Sunday. If history is any indication, things could come down to the 72nd hole.

Players are also jockeying for 75 Korn Ferry Tour Finals berths, providing another opportunity for a TOUR card via the three-event Finals beginning at next week’s Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron. Players who finish top-75 on the Regular Season Eligibility Points List are fully exempt on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour, no Q-School needed.

Three players share the 54-hole lead in Nebraska at 13 under, representing a variety of scenarios.

Co-leader Taylor Montgomery entered the week at No. 8 on the Points List and has secured his first TOUR card, a long way from his fate last season, where he missed the cut in Omaha and eventually fell from No. 24 to No. 26. He is still searching for his first Korn Ferry Tour victory, and a triumph in the Regular Season finale would make him the 23rd different winner in 23 events this season.

England’s Ben Taylor began the week squarely on the bubble at No. 23, and he has rose to the occasion in dramatic fashion, holing out for eagle on No. 18 Saturday to card 9-under 62 and assume his place at the top of the leaderboard. A solid final round would provide a PGA TOUR return.

University of North Florida alum Philip Knowles began the week at No. 87 on the Eligibility Points List, with scenarios from Second Stage of Q-School to a PGA TOUR card all in the realm. The Florida native has embraced the situation, carding a third-round 64 to join Montgomery and Taylor atop the leaderboard. Knowles needs a win for a TOUR card and a two-way T23 at minimum for a Finals berth.

Final-round tee times in Omaha run from 6:40 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. CT off No. 1 tee, meaning the drama is sure to come fast and furious on Sunday morning in the race for 25 TOUR cards as well as 75 Korn Ferry Tour Finals berths.

Ryan Hall took the road less traveled to the Pinnacle Bank Championship, and it’s paying off.

After finishing No. 11 on the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking, the recent University of South Carolina graduate headed to PGA TOUR Canada for the summer.

Hall missed the cut at last week’s Quebec Open and was monitoring the alternate list for this week’s Pinnacle Bank Championship; in large part due to a T14 at last month’s Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS.

With this week’s field in Omaha based directly off the Points List, both members and non-members eligible, Hall was on the verge of a chance. He gained entry Monday afternoon; by that time, he was en route to Omaha on a 23-hour drive from Montreal, spread across three days with a pit stop in Pennsylvania to pick up his girlfriend.

The Tennessee native has taken advantage. He carded a third-round, 7-under 64 at The Club at Indian Creek, moving to T11 into the final round at 9 under, four back of the lead.

Hall needs a two-way T2 at minimum for a chance at an unlikely Finals berth, which would provide a chance at a TOUR card across the next three weeks. He’ll give it a run on Sunday in Omaha, embracing an unlikely opportunity.

Tripp Kinney earned 2022 Korn Ferry Tour membership via Q-School last fall. His first full year as a pro has been a struggle at times – he has yet to record a top-20 finish in 22 starts this season – but the way he sees it, he has gained valuable experience at this level.

Kinney began the week at No. 146 on the Eligibility Points List, with one final chance to avoid Q-School. He needs a solo third at minimum for a chance at a Finals berth; various other scenarios could allow him to keep conditional status (top 100) and advance directly to Final Stage (top 85).

The Iowa State alum grew up in Des Moines, just two hours from Omaha, and has given himself an outside chance into the final day of the Regular Season. Kinney carded a third-round 65 at The Club at Indian Creek and enters Sunday in a tie for 22nd, six strokes off the lead.

It might be a long shot, to be sure. But Kinney is up for the challenge.

"Whether I make it to the PGA TOUR, whether I'm working my way thru Q-School ... the bubble is just always somewhere you're going to be,” Kinney said. “Hopefully one day I can crack the bubble of top 50 in the world. Nerves are always going to be there. Look forward to seeing how I react to those."