Chase Koepka climbs into lead after 3 rounds at Fuhrer Invitational

Third-round leader Chase Koepka keeps making headlines at the Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational, but not entirely for his golf.

First, he lost his clubs and suitcases on a layover flight while on his way to the tournament.

Then, with one hole to play in Tuesday’s third round, he and his group became stranded in the on-course elevator that takes players from the 17th green to the 18th tee.

“We had this moment, like, where are we? What’s going on here?” Koepka said of the 15-minute ordeal. “It was draining in there with four people.”

While the Fuhrer rookie said he doesn’t feel cursed, he does feel confident in what has been an eventful week.

Koepka could get the lion’s share of the attention again if he can raise the trophy. After all, his game is, well … going up.

As the tightly contested tournament winds to a finish, the 27-year-old Floridian, who finally got his clubs and luggage back Tuesday morning at his hotel in Penn Hills, has his eye on the $40,000 first prize.

Koepka, the younger brother of four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, takes a one-shot lead into the final 18 holes after shooting a 1-under-par 69 at sweltering Pittsburgh Field Club.

“Getting my own clubs back was a big relief,” said Koepka, one of five players under par. He sits at 4-under 206 after playing the first two rounds with a borrowed set of clubs. “That allowed me to play my game. I didn’t have to keep figuring out the other set, and I could make my swings.”

Koepka was a late addition after he replaced 2019 champion Mike Gligic, who withdrew because he is playing in this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour.

Koepka continues to adjust to the course and its slick greens.

“I had a lot of good putts that didn’t go in,” Koepka said. “Getting around here in 1-under today, I’ll take that. It is nice to see.”

Newly turned professional Jack Katarincic, a member at the Field Club, is one shot back at 3-under 207 after a 71. The Shady Side Academy alum began the day as a co-leader with North Carolina pro Ryan Sullivan at 4-under.

Katarincic was hoping to play through when Koepka’s group got stuck. Instead, he waited until they played the 18th to salvage a nice round despite five bogeys.

He will be paired with Koepka on Wednesday.

“I wasn’t looking at leaderboards all day,” Katarincic said. “I tried to stay patient. I bogeyed 10, but the tee was up at 13 and I made birdie there. Then I had a nice up and down at 14, chipped in for eagle at 15 and birdied 17. This course can send you down a dark path fast.”

While making up ground was like climbing the hill to the 18th tee instead of riding the elevator, defending champion Dan McCarthy moved into a tie for third with Zachary Oakley after a 2-under 68. They are two back of Koepka.

McCarthy, a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., resident who often plays with fellow member Chase Koepka at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, shot 31 with three birdies and an eagle on the back nine. He played with a heavy heart, however, after finding out his father-in-law had died following a battle with ALS.

McCarthy finished 14-under last year to edge Dan Obremski, a Penn-Trafford graduate, by one shot. The pair lapped the field in a record-setting scoring display the tournament had not seen.

Scores aren’t nearly as low this year.

“When it was just the two of us battling like that, you can be more aggressive,” McCarthy said. “You can be aggressive when it’s set up to be aggressive. I have to hit my driver better … we’ll see what happens.”

Said Obremski: “We were just playing good golf (last year). We weren’t trying to do too much. We didn’t make many mistakes. It was like playing chess.”

Koepka was coming off a bogey at 17 when he and playing partner Patrick Flavin, along with their caddies, boarded the elevator and watched the door close. But nothing happened.

The elevator did not move, and the group waited for help after a caddie called the clubhouse. Then the lights went out, and they stood in the stuffy darkness.

Eventually, the decades-old lift was reset after the breaker tripped.

“Just when you think you have seen it all in golf,” said Flavin, who is tied with Eric Cole for birdies made through 54 holes (13). “That happens. It didn’t feel good. It was hot. I get nervous every time we get in there. Luckily none of us are claustrophobic.”

Flavin, who had a 66 in the second round, is alone in fifth at 1-under. He played college golf with Katarincic at Miami (Ohio).

“You can’t make mistakes out there,” Flavin said. “This is a no-joke golf course.”

Beau Titsworth, who matched McCarthy’s 68 on Tuesday, is tied with Sullivan at even 210. Titsworth, who climbed 14 spots Tuesday, also plays out of Florida.

“There is a good number out there,” Sullivan said. “You just can’t go at some of these pins. The course is playing tough.”

Franklin Regional alum Palmer Jackson, a rising junior at Notre Dame, is in position to take home low amateur honors. He is tied for 10th at 2-over 212.

Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday off the first and 10th tees.