BERTHOUD >> Kevin Dougherty knew a low round was coming.

The California native, who went to Oklahoma State and now resides in Dallas, felt like a score like the one he put up in the third round of The Ascendant at TPC Colorado on Saturday was close.

With a birdie on the 18th hole, he finished the round with a 63, tying the record for the lowest round at a Korn Ferry Tour tournament at the Berthoud course, either The Ascendant or the TPC Colorado Championship before that.

“I feel like it’s been close all year,” Dougherty said. “I’ve been playing really solid. I changed my practice a little bit the last month or so to be a little more mindful of course situations rather than just raking balls and trying to play golf swing.”

Dougherty went into the clubhouse tied for the overall lead through three rounds, but with golfers still on the course, his position — and holding a share of the course record — was in jeopardy.

First-round leader Ross Steelman was one of those golfers and with help of a pair of eagles also turned in a round of 63. Steelman leads Dougherty and the rest of the field by three strokes going into Sunday’s final 18 holes.

Steelman had a chance to set a new mark with a 62, but he bogeyed No. 18 to also finish with a 63 for the round and a 17-under 199 for the tournament.

“It was a good day,” Steelman said. “Started out with an eagle on (No. 1), so that was good. And then, honestly, I hit the ball really well all day. From holes 3 through 17, I had outside of 10 feet for birdie maybe once or twice, so I just hit it really well.”

As for Dougherty, he started with a birdie on No. 3, he played 6 under par over seven holes, making the turn with a 36 on the front nine. He started his back nine with five straight pars before recording birdies on 15, 16 and 18.

“It was kind of a day of patience,” Dougherty said. “I probably got off to the slowest start of the guys in our group. I kind of was just plotting away, and then I chipped in for eagle on six and that kind of got me off to the races. We had a beautiful birdie on seven, a beautiful birdie on nine and kind of just from there, just rolled the wave and finished off nicely.”

A victory Sunday would be Dougherty’s first on the Korn Ferry Tour. He has four runner-up finishes since 2018.

He plans to not focus on a specific score and hopes the weather cooperates, as it did Saturday.

“I’m not really focused on a score, necessarily,” Dougherty said. “I think the weather’s going to be good again. and depending on the wind, some holes are definitely gettable. So, I’m just going to go out and we’ll try to do the same routine and try to be acceptable with all outcomes as possible, for sure.”

One of Dougherty’s playing partners Friday was former Colorado State Ram Connor Jones. Jones, who made the field via a qualifier last Saturday, not only made the cut but is at 8 under par after three rounds.

He followed up his first-round 72 with a 67 on Friday and a 69 on Saturday. It helps that he has plenty of experience on the course being both from Colorado and on the team at CSU.

“I love TPC,” he said. “We played up here a bunch when I was at CSU, so it’s great playing here, having my parents here. So, it’s fun. I love it. Everybody’s throwing up the Go Rams and, yeah, it’s comfortable and familiar, so it’s good.”

His third round Saturday included five birdies, including three over a four-hole stretch on the back nine, and two bogeys.

He came off the course feeling like he could have done better, but was most pleased with the way he came back from a bogey on No. 11 with a birdie on No. 12.

“I think I was just hitting it a little bit too hard,” he said. “I hit some shots that went further than expected today. I think I was most happy with 12. I had that good bounce back on 12. I kind of had a sloppy three putt on 11 and then I was able to bounce back and make a good putt on 12 and I felt good.”

Behind Steelman (199) and Dougherty (202), Jorge Fernandez Valdes and Ian Holt are four strokes off the lead with a 203. T.J. Vogel is alone in fifth place with a 204.