Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – Joel Darmen shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday to get a three-stroke lead and attempted to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the only tour victory of the PGA Tour.
Damen won the 2021 event. With Sunday’s victory, he will receive a two-year exemption after maintaining a slight PGA Tour card last year.
Darmen was totaling 17 under and opened in rounds of 62 and 66 to break the tournament’s 36-hole record.
Stanford alumni Michael Solbjornsen, who won the card through the PGA Tour University rankings, was second-linked with Chang Kim and Garrick Higugo at 14 under. Kim shot 69, while Solbyonsen and Higugo were in their 70s.
Vince Whatay (66), Jeremy Paul (67) and Ben Martin (67) were under the age of 13.
Ben Poland, who will defend his title at the PGA Professional Championship next week, is now 54th and 54th under the age of 72.