NEWBURGH, Ind. – Thomas Walsh is perhaps the field’s foil at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.

The word of the week is pressure, as players fight for PGA TOUR cards on an increasingly demanding Victoria National Golf Club. Walsh, though, doesn’t feel much pressure – particularly early Saturday when he played his first five holes in 5 over. Walsh knows he needs a high finish, maybe a win, to earn his first PGA TOUR card. He knew he was well off that goal at the time, double digits back of the tournament lead.

“I’m like, ‘This season’s over. I’m done,” Walsh said of his mindset at the time. “’Screw this, I’m going home; I’m going to Italy next week. I’m done.’”

Walsh, though, was not done. He played his next 13 holes in 6 under, including five birdies in his last six holes – punctuated by a 30-foot birdie at the par-4 18th – to shoot 1-under 71 and maintain hopes of an unlikely surge into the top 30.

Walsh stands T6 for the tournament, four strokes back of co-leaders Josh Teater and Paul Barjon. The University of Virginia alum entered the week at No. 54 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List; the top 30 after this week will earn 2024 PGA TOUR membership. As things project, he would need a win at Victoria National to move inside the top 30.

It might be a long shot, but he has a shot. On a Sunday where most of the field will face perhaps the most pressure in their professional golf lives, Walsh will plan to free-wheel it. It has been the best season of his career, after all, highlighted by a runner-up at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper in July. Worst case, he’s a full Korn Ferry Tour member next season and he can attempt to earn a TOUR card via PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, where the top five finishers and ties at Final Stage will earn TOUR cards. Nos. 31-60 on the final Korn Ferry Tour Points List will earn direct access to Final Stage (Walsh projects No. 52 into Sunday).

He's headed to Italy next week, as well. His wife planned the trip; they’ll begin in Milan and end in Rome. He’s looking forward to the pasta, and he’s not bringing his golf clubs.

One more day with the golf clubs in southern Indiana, with a chance to go low and earn his first TOUR card. He has nothing to lose, he figures, so he might as well give it his best shot.

“I felt like I was just getting punched in the face constantly, but I like to fight pretty hard,” Walsh said of his slow start Saturday. “So you’d better knock me out if you’re going to punch me, because I’m going to fight back.”

Walsh fought back Saturday afternoon as the wind whipped across Victoria National – and then some.

TOP-30 BUBBLE

The top 30 players on the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Points List, finalized after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, will earn 2024 PGA TOUR membership.

The top 16 players on the Points List into the week have mathematically clinched their spots in the top 30, with the final 14 cards to be determined this weekend at Victoria National.

Nos. 17-23 on the Points List entered the week with a sizable cushion on the bubble, with the bubble most tightly contested between Nos. 26 and 33. Entering the week, there was only a 29-point gap between No. 26 Carter Jenkins and No. 33 Trace Crowe, the equivalent of a 31st-place finish at Victoria National. Anything can and will happen this week.

After three rounds at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, four players are projected to move inside the top 30, including co-leaders Josh Teater and Paul Barjon. Joe Highsmith currently holds the projected No. 30 spot, just 5.223 points ahead of Roger Sloan. Highsmith entered the week at No. 27 on the Points List and has opened in rounds of 73-70-69 at Victoria National; he stands T14 for the tournament.

Projected in

Josh Teater (from No. 34 to No. 7 with a victory). The 44-year-old moved from T17 into a share of the lead on Moving Day, carding an 8-under 64 that included four birdies and an eagle in his final seven holes. He shares the lead at 10 under into the final round.

Paul Barjon (from No. 45 to No. 9 with a victory). The New Caledonia native matched Teater’s low round of the day, 8-under 64, while playing in the same group. They’ll share the lead into Sunday, two strokes clear of David Kocher.

Wilson Furr (from No. 32 to No. 21). The Alabama alum stands T4 for the week at 7 under, coming up big when he needs it most. He’s positioned to chase his first TOUR card on Sunday.

Mason Andersen (from No. 42 to No. 29): The Korn Ferry Tour rookie led by two strokes with five holes to play Saturday, but he was derailed by a triple bogey at No. 14 and back-to-back closing bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18.

Projected out

Jorge Fernandez Valdes (from No. 24 to No. 32): The Argentina native, chasing his first TOUR card, stands T59 for the week at 8 over. He still has a chance to hang onto a top-30 position, but he has likely left his fate in the hands of the field.

Chase Seiffert (from No. 28 to No. 33): The Florida native stands T24 for the week at 1 under, and he’s three strokes back of a top-30 position into the final day of the season. Based on movement around the bubble, though, he could move closer as Sunday unfolds.

Carter Jenkins (from No. 26 to No. 37): The North Carolina alum has rallied valiantly from an opening-round 84, carding scores of 70-67 on Friday and Saturday, but he’ll likely need something in the mid-60s on Sunday to hold onto his top-30 position. He currently stands T50 for the week.

Jackson Suber (from No. 30 to No. 39): The bubble boy into the week, Suber has improved each day with rounds of 76-74-72, but he’s a distant T53 for the week, in need of a heroic final round and some help from others around the bubble.

CHASE FOR NO. 1

The top finisher on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List will earn fully exempt 2024 PGA TOUR membership and will qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open and THE PLAYERS Championship.

Ben Kohles entered the week in the No. 1 position, with Nos. 2-6 on the Points List having a mathematical chance to supplant Kohles and finish No. 1. Kohles, a two-time winner this season, stands T6 into the final round at Victoria National. He shared the 36-hole lead alongside Mason Andersen but fell back with a third-round 75.

Here's a look at those with a mathematical chance to finish No. 1 (behind Kohles), how they’ve fared through 54 holes, and what they need for a chance to supplant Kohles:

No. 2 Chan Kim: T20 (needs two-way T2)

No. 3 Rico Hoey: T22 (needs two-way T2)

No. 4 Ben Silverman: T57 (needs solo second)

No. 5 Alejandro Tosti: T11 (needs win)

No. 6 Pierceson Coody: T69 (needs win)

FIGHTING FOR FINAL STAGE

After the 30 PGA TOUR cards are finalized, Nos. 31-60 on the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Points List will qualify for Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, which will offer five TOUR cards (and ties). Nos. 61-75 on the season-ending Points List will begin Q-School at Second Stage.

Here’s a look at players around the top-60 bubble into the week and how they project through 54 holes at Victoria National:

No. 56 Quade Cummins: T61 (9 over), projected No. 59

No. 57 Jeremy Paul: T24 (1 under), projected No. 55

No. 58 Sam Saunders: T38 (3 over), projected No. 57

No. 59 Paul Peterson: WD, projected No. 61

No. 60 Patrick Cover: T32 (1 over), projected No. 58

No. 61 Brad Hopfinger: T67 (12 over), projected No. 63

No. 62 Davis Chatfield: T38 (3 over), projected No. 62

No. 63 Steven Fisk: T14 (4 under), projected No. 60