Sides in contention as birdie sharks hunt at Compliance Solutions Championship
It took most of a long first day, but as the rain ended and the wind died to a whisper, the birdie sharks began to feed.
All four players who shot rounds of 8-under 62 and 9-under 61 Thursday at The Patriot in the first round of the Compliance Solutions Championship played in the afternoon wave. They are back out this morning in pursuit of the record 33-under posted last year by Adrien Dumont de Chassart. Par has been lowered this year from 71 to 70 by converting hole 16 to a par-4, but the low scores continue.
Tied for the lead at 61 were Sandy Scott, who birdied four of his final five holes (all but 16), and former Illinois golfer Jackson Buchanan. Right behind those two were Derek Hitchner (career low) and Chris Francoeur at 62.
The top 65 and ties will make the cut for the weekend in the field of 90 players. On a football free weekend for Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa, golf fans can purchase tickets and come out to see the incredible golf for just $10 at www.compliancesolutionschampionship.com.
After making birdie on the first hole, Tulsan Will Sides drove it right into trouble on his third hole (No. 12) and made bogey. He played holes 13 through 17 in even par and was in danger of being left behind. Then he popped up his drive with a 3-wood on the par-4 18th and was fortunate that it came to rest in deep rough just inside the 4-foot gunch down the left side of the hole in which the second shot plays over a canyon to a green perched on a ledge.
Instead of punching it out, Sides went for the green and got solid contact. The ball landed on the slope behind the green and tricked back down to 4 feet. He converted that birdie putt and used that momentum to shoot 5-under on the front 9, pushing him to 6-under overall and a tie for 12th after the first round.
Sides comes into the event at No. 82 on the KFT points list and needs to move up into the top 60 in order to play next week in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. To do that, KFT officials estimate he will need no worse than a tie for eighth this week and possibly better depending on how golfers ahead of him on the points list finish. The top 20 after next week earn PGA Tour cards for 2027 and seven golfers have already guaranteed themselves one of those spots.
Sandy Scott (T1/-9)
- Birdies four of his final five holes (Nos. 15, 16, 17, 18) en route to a 9-under 61, marking the second-lowest round of his career (18-hole career low: 11-under 60/2025 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/R4)
- First 18-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career (T2/2025 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open presented by Syndeo/finished T23)
- Declared TourBound following his first career victory at the 2026 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, securing PGA Tour membership for the 2027 season
- Including his victory at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship last time out, he’s logged top-five finishes in his last three starts (T4/AdventHealth Championship; 2nd/Simmons Bank Open for the Snedker Foundation)
- Finished T60 at the 2025 Compliance Solutions Championship in his only other previous start
- Finished No. 55 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie, earning full status for the 2026 season
- Earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time with a No. 8 finish on the 2024 PGA Tour Americas Points List, accomplishing the feat off the strength of a runner-up finish at the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship
- Played the 2023 season on PGA Tour Latinoamerica, finishing No. 14 on its Order of Merit
- Played six seasons at Texas Tech University (2016-22), where he earned two individual victories
Jackson Buchanan (T1/-9)
- Cards a career-low bogey-free 9-under 61 with seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 10th (previous career-low round: 62/2026 Memorial Health Championship/R1)
- First 18-hole lead/co-lead in what is his 25th Korn Ferry Tour start (previous best 18-hole position: T2/2026 Evans Scholar Invitational/finished T5)
- Making first career start at the Compliance Solutions Championship
- Stands No. 54 on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List off the strength of three top-10s, including two top-fives (T5/Evans Scholars Invitational; 5th/Alberstsons Boise Open presented by Chevron)
- Earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time with a T42 finish at Final Stage of 2025 PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry
- Finished No. 27 on the 2025 PGA Tour Americas Points List in his first year as a professional
- Finished No. 12 in the 2025 PGA Tour University Ranking after four seasons at University of Illinois (2021-25), where he was the 2025 Byron Nelson Award recipient and 2024 Big Ten Conference Golfer of the Year
 Derek Hitchner (T3/-8), winner of the 2026 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health, birdies four of his final five holes (Nos. 14, 15, 16, 18) to match his career low with an 8-under 62
- Chris Francoeur (T3/-8), who stands No. 70 on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, opens in 8-under 62 and holds the best first-round position of his career on Tour (previous 18-hole high position: T5/2026 AdventHealth Championship/finished T16)
- Tulsa native William Sides (T12/-6), who finished No. 7 in the 2026 PGA Tour University Ranking, cards an 18-hole career-low 6-under 64 (previous career low: 65; two occurrences)