Mark Hubbard is still seeking his first PGA Tour title in his 274th tour start at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
And he’s at peace with it.
For the first time in his professional career.
Hubbard, 36, has tried to accept his lack of success up to this point on the PGA Tour for the sake of his mental health and perhaps his results.
“It sounds weird, but I feel like this is the first time in my life I’ve felt like it was okay to fail and mess up. It has kind of given me some relief,” Hubbard said. “I am someone who puts a ton of pressure on myself, and it’s been too much this year to start. I’m just kind of giving myself some slack for the first time maybe ever.”
Hubbard shot a 7-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead at 16-under par into Sunday’s final round.
A number of golfers played their way into contention Saturday with rounds of 65 or better at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, which was gettable with light wind and cloudy conditions that kept the greens from firming up.
Brooks Koepka made a charge with a 64 and is five shots off the lead in a tie for seventh at 11-under.
Aaron Rai, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 42 in the world, went low again with a 66 and is one shot behind Hubbard. Kevin Roy shot 65 and is two back, and both Mac Meissner and Beau Hossler shot 64s to move into a tie for fourth with Brandt Snedeker at 13-under.
Tee times begin at 6:35 a.m Sunday and the lead twosome of Hubbard and Rai tees off at 12:50 p.m.
Hubbard on the brink
Hubbard shot a 5-under 31 on the back nine with a birdie on the 11th hole and four straight on holes 14-17.
“I felt like I had some of the best ball control I’ve had all season, maybe my whole career today, but I felt like I was kind of leaving a few out there in the middle of the round,” Hubbard said. “I think Mark a couple of weeks ago would have gotten pretty frustrated and turned a 64 into a 68. I just stayed really patient and just tried and kept hitting good shot after good shot and eventually the putts started going in.”
The Denver native who played at San Jose State has one runner-up finish, nine top-fives and just 17 top-10 finishes in his PGA Tour career.
This season, he has one top-25 finish and has missed six cuts in 11 events.
Sunday could be a career-changing moment.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity and to be back where I feel like I belong, so I’m just going to try and enjoy that the best I can,” he said. “You know, golf is really hard, and it beats you down, but sometimes the nice thing about that is it kind of, you know, gives you some perspective. . . .When you kind of feel like you’re struggling and you have to kind of work your way back.”
If he is still in contention on the back nine Sunday, Hubbard will have to like his chances.
He has played the back nine 14-under this week with 14 birdies, 13 pars and no bogeys.
“I do like the back nine probably a little more, but you know, I like the front nine a lot too. It’s just kind of happened that way,” Hubbard said.
Rai in position
Rai has been consistently good this week with rounds of 65, 67 and 66. His ranking and standing through three rounds may make him the favorite Sunday.
“No matter what anyone’s world ranking is . . . there’s no divine right in golf,” Rai said. “Everyone starts at the same playing field on Thursday, and everyone who is in this field is good enough to win. No one has any rights to walk in and play well and compete.”
After two solid seasons on tour with 23 top-25 finishes in 2024-25, including his lone PGA Tour win in the 2024 Wyndham Championship, Rai was beset by injuries to his lower back and neck early this season that interrupted his momentum.
The Englishman has made six of eight PGA Tour cuts this season with a pair of top-25 finishes but no top-20s, and is 127th in FedExCup points. But he said his health and ability to work on his game have improved greatly over the past several weeks.
“I think no matter how much you practice at home, you never know quite how it translates,” Rai said. “Over the last four weeks or so I’ve had a couple of starts out on tour, and there’s been some really good, positive signs. I just haven’t quite managed to do it for three rounds, for four rounds. So there’s definitely some good things in there.”
Koepka catches fire
Koepka bogeyed the ninth hole to fall to even par for the day and 4-under for the tournament before lighting up the back nine of The Dunes Club.
He birdied the 10th hole then played the five-hole stretch from 12 through 16 6-under par with four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th.
“That’s the most excited I’ve been playing golf in a long, long time, I can tell you that much,” Koepka said. “It’s I would say back until ’23, the PGA. It’s been a long time since I’ve had fun playing golf.”
The 29 on the back nine is Koepka’s first on the PGA Tour since 2019.
“I feel like I haven’t shot 6-under, 7-under, 8-under in a long time,” Koepka said. “I know a lot of that is because of the putter, but hopefully this can kind of translate into tomorrow and then into next week, and then you just build that momentum and ride the wave.”
Koepka has struggled on the greens in his return to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf this season.
Had he putted well Saturday he could have threatened 60. Aside from a 40-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole and a 14-footer for birdie on the 12th, Koepka’s four other birdie putts on the back nine were within 5 feet. He said he had just one birdie putt outside 15 feet on the front nine and made one birdie.
“I just tried to wait my turn. It’s been quite a frustrating year with the flat stick,” Koepka said. “. . . I feel like I’ve been hitting the ball great for a long time. I just started chipping a little bit better as well. I haven’t holed any putts in, I think, I don’t know when. I just stuffed it all day. That was kind of the thing.”
A win on Mother’s Day would get Koepka into the final two $20 million Signature Events on tour this season. He’s been the first alternate in the past two and can’t accept a sponsor exemption into them per terms of the tour’s Returning Membership Program policy enacted this year for Koepka’s return.
“I’m not too worried about it,” Koepka said. “I think I’m just trying to play one more good round of golf and strike it the way I can.”
Hossler starts fast
Hossler did most of his damage early Saturday, as he shot to the top of the leaderboard with birdies on six of his first seven holes to quickly reach 12-under.
“I got off to a beautiful start. I took advantage of the holes I needed to. I even got a couple of birdies on holes that you’re really just trying to make par,” Hossler said. “From there, I think the goal is just to keep hitting quality shot after quality shot and make good decisions and commit to what you’re doing. Effectively I felt like I did that.“. . . I’m a little salty right now. I felt like I could have had three or four more on the back nine, but such is golf, right?”
