Austin Hurt, Charlie Beljan Share One-Shot Lead After Three Rounds of 2026 PGA Professional Championship

The Bandon Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort was certainly likely to present a difficult test. When strong, chilly, late-afternoon winds arrived on Tuesday, it did just that in the third round of the 2026 PGA Professional Championship.

Playing together in the final group, Austin Hurt (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) and Charlie Beljan (Mesa, Ariz.) weathered the challenging conditions and share a one-shot lead at 3-under-par heading into Wednesday’s finale. Hurt, the 36-hole leader, shot 5-over-par 77 while Beljan carded a 2-over-par 74.

Ben Kern (South Bloomfield, Ohio), Derek Berg (Duvall, Wash.) and Jesse Droemer (Houston, Texas) are T-3, one shot back at 2-under-par. Mark Geddes (Coronado, Calif.) is sixth at 1-under-par. Five players are T-7, three shots off the lead at even par.

Hurt, PGA Head Golf Professional at Wing Point Golf & Country Club, navigated a rollercoaster front-nine that included back-to-back bogeys on the par-3 2nd and par-5 3rd holes. He then bogeyed holes 5-6 before tallying his first birdie of the day at the par-4 7th. Going bogey-birdie on holes 8-9 closed his front-nine at 3-over.

The 37-year-old Hurt rebounded from consecutive bogeys on holes 10-11 with a birdie at the par-3 12th. After bogeying the par-3 15th, he notched a clutch birdie at the par-4 16th. Finishing on a high note, he sank a seven-foot par putt at the par-5 18th to remain in a tie atop the leaderboard.

“It was very hard all the way around,” said Hurt. “It started hard and I faced adversity super early and tried to weather that through five holes. It was going bad and I really tried to keep my head on my shoulders and I'll say it again, take it one shot at a time. I've really been focusing on that all week. I was able to get through today even though it was a 77. It felt like one of the harder fought rounds that I've ever played.”

Despite the challenges in round three, the Pacific Northwest PGA Member feels good about his game heading into Wednesday.

“I think we're in a great spot,” said Hurt. “I learned a lot today and you know I hope to carry that resilience with me and show people that that's what it takes to prevail. I had some great rounds earlier this week.”

Beljan, a PGA Teaching Professional at Torreon Golf Club, collected his own front-nine bogeys at the par-4 1st and 5th holes. Things turned around in a big way at holes 9 and 10: The 41-year-old eagled the par-5 9th (after a “beautiful” 8-iron into the green) then notched his lone birdie of the day on the par-4 10th.

The Southwest PGA Member posted back-to-back bogeys on holes 11-12 before concluding his third round with five pars and a final bogey at the par-3 15th.

“Bandon Dunes reared its teeth right before we teed off,” said Beljan. “I had to hit shots, be creative, do everything that I haven't had to do and I have never really done except for when I was back in school at the University of New Mexico and the wind blew. It was extremely difficult out there today, and I'm beyond thrilled with 2 over.”

Beljan looks to draw on past experience as he prepares for the final round.

“This was different, but I'm so proud of the way I hung in there today,” he said. “There's 18 more holes of golf. Anybody's ballgame, especially out here, and especially if the wind blows like it does today. Anything can happen. So I'm excited for the challenge.”

Kern, the PGA General Manager at Hickory Hills Golf Course, began his morning third round T-71 before rocketing up the leaderboard with a 5-under-par 67, the low round of the day. After an eagle at the par-5 9th, he played his back-nine at 4-under-par.

Berg, a PGA Teaching Professional at PNW Golf Academy, and Droemer, a PGA Teaching Professional at Riverbend Country Club, both recorded 2-over-par 74s.

“It was a grind,” said Droemer. “The toughest thing was putting. I mean it was hard just to two-putt from 10 feet sometimes. But that's what you want. You're competing for a good amount of money in a major championship, so I want the toughest conditions. It was a lot of fun.”

Geddes, PGA Director of Golf at Coronado Golf Course, posted 2-under-par 70.

Riley Wheeldon (Newtown Square, Pa.) is T-12 at 1-over-par following a 3-over-par 75. Allie Knight (Knoxville, Tenn.) shot 6-over-par 78 and is T-34.

72 players made the 54-hole cut at 7-over-par 222. Wednesday’s final round of the 2026 PGA Professional Championship presented by Club Car, Corebridge Financial and Rolex will be broadcast live on Golf Channel from 3-6 p.m. (PT).