Ryan Brehm equaled the round of the week on Friday with an 8-under 63 to ascend to the top of the leaderboard through 36 holes at the 30th Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco. At 12-under 130, Brehm leads Charlie Saxon by one stroke entering the weekend at Hillcrest Country Club.
Brehm, a 33-year-old from Mount Pleasant, Michigan, started on the 10th hole and carded eight birdies during a bogey-free round, including six straight from Nos. 15-2.
“I don’t remember the last time I had a streak like that,” said Brehm. “I actually looked at the scoreboard on the par-5 third and realized I had made six in a row, and I was in perfect position off the tee. I thought to myself let’s go get a seventh, and then of course I made a par. At least I made a birdie on the next hole.”
The Michigan State University alum posted 15 birdies through his first two rounds, countered by one bogey and one double bogey on Thursday. Brehm finished 13th in The 25 during the Regular Season, earning a return to the PGA TOUR. He previously competed on TOUR during the 2016-17 season, making 17 of 25 cuts, but only tallying one top-25. This year, Brehm has accumulated five top-10s, highlighted by his second career win at the LECOM Health Challenge.
While some players have taken a different approach at the shorter layout of Hillcrest Country Club, Brehm has continued doing what he does best: hitting driver off the tee. He ranks 10th on Tour in driving distance and fourth this week with an average of 354 yards per drive.
“I’m hitting driver as much as I can out here; it’s as simple as that,” said Brehm. “I think I hit it nine times today. There are a few times where I don’t because if it’s not perfect then you can get yourself in trouble, but I’m going to live and die by the sword. I’m going to keep sending it over the next two days and see what happens.”
Brehm hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation on Friday, T7 in the field. His shot of the day came at the par-3 17th, where he put it to one foot. Despite the fireworks at the penultimate hole, his shot on the hole was overshadowed by one he witnessed.
“I threw a couple of darts; I threw one into No. 17 to about a foot away and had a kick-in birdie,” said Brehm. “I was walking by earlier in the round – I think I was on No. 13 – and I saw Brett Stegmaier hit a hole-in-one there. And then I hit it close, so that hole was just fun today.”
Saxon, the 18-hole co-leader, backed up a first-round 64 with a second-round 67 to reach 11-under through two rounds. The 26-year-old carded five birdies and one bogey on Friday to remain near the top of the leaderboard.
“That was the goal coming into today, to get somewhere comfortably into double digits and go out there and stick to the process I’ve been doing and play a solid round,” said Saxon. “It wasn’t quite as clean as yesterday but for the most part I’m pretty pleased with how my round went.”
Saxon, who is the career money leader on PGA TOUR Series-China, is competing in a full slate of Korn Ferry Tour events this season for the first time. He competed in 15 events in 2017 but earned only one top-25. This year, the University of Oklahoma alum has seven top-25s in 22 starts.
Saturday’s third-round tee times will run from 7:50 a.m. to 1:40 p.m.

Grayson Murray and Charlie Saxon carded rounds of 7-under 64 at Hillcrest Country Club and share the first-round lead at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco. In the second of three tournaments in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, Murray is looking to strengthen his status on the PGA TOUR for the 2019-20 season, while Saxon has a chance to earn his TOUR card for the first time.

Murray was exempt on the PGA TOUR this season by virtue of his win at the 2017 Barbasol Championship, but his year was cut short by a lower-back injury that originated in 2018. After he “tweaked it pretty bad” at the Valero Texas Open in April, Murray withdrew and didn’t touch a club for two months in order for the inflammation to reduce.

His first start after the injury was a T2 finish at the REX Hospital Open in June, and he’s coming off a T23 finish at the first Finals event, the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. He took a medical exemption and will have 12 starts on TOUR next season, but a finish in The Finals 25 will guarantee him a full schedule for 2019-20.

“My goal was to be feeling good going into these Playoffs,” said Murray, who is playing back-to-back weeks for the first time since March. “Like any of us out here, if we’re playing decent or swinging decent we want to keep it going. I’m glad that my body is feeling good enough to do it.”

After averaging 30.5 putts per round last week in Columbus, Murray needed just 25 putts in his 7-under 64 on Thursday. It was his third straight 64 at Hillcrest Country Club, as he carded weekend rounds of 64-64 to finish third at the 2016 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco.

“With the breeze it got pretty tricky and there are definitely some pins that we were having to steer 20, 30 feet away from just with the wind,” Murray said. “Usually, around this place, you want to fire at everything, so it’s holding its own. I felt like 7-under was a really good score out there.”

For Saxon, his first-round 64 was a step towards a promotion to the PGA TOUR. Entering this week, Saxon had missed the cut in three of his last four starts, including a 73-79 performance last week at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. He hit just 7 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens on Thursday, but he needed only 20 putts – including one-putts on his last 10 holes.

“It wasn’t the cleanest round, I don’t even think I hit that many greens, but when I was in trouble, I was able to give myself a good look at par,” said Saxon, who matched his season-best score on Thursday. “My putts per greens in regulation must have been really low because when I did hit the green, I was pouring in the birdie putts.”

Saxon posted seven top-25s and finished the regular season 40th on the points list. He has secured status on the Korn Ferry Tour for next year, and that level of job security has eased the pressure of the Finals.

“I’d love to play on the PGA TOUR next year, it’s been a lifelong dream that I have a chance to achieve, but at the same time, I know that another year out here wouldn’t be the worst thing with some more time to get better,” Saxon said. “So I’m just treating it as an opportunity, and if I play well the next three days then I will get my TOUR card, and if not, then the world isn’t going to end.”

Four players are tied for third after rounds of 6-under 65. Hank Lebioda (148th), Tom Hoge (159th) and Tyler Duncan (163rd) finished No. 126-200 in the FedExCup this year and are looking to return to the PGA TOUR, while Mark Anderson finished No. 14 in The 25 and secured his TOUR card for the third time and first since 2016-17.

The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco is the second of three events in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. The 2019 season concludes next week at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, where The Finals 25 will earn their PGA TOUR cards for the 2019-20 season.

Friday’s second-round tee times will run in two waves off of the first and 10th tees from 7:30 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.

The 30th Annual Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco kicked off the tournament week on Tuesday evening with the Official Pro-Am Dinner at the Boise Centre. In front of an audience of more than 700 sponsors and media partners, executives from Albertsons Companies and Lagardere Sports announced that this year’s tournament raised a record breaking $1.5 MILLION for charity. This takes the 30 year total charitable contribution to over $25 MILLION.
 
“Thanks to the continued and amazing support of Albertsons Companies, our supporting sponsors and our fans, we are thrilled to announce this huge contribution to deserving charities,” said Jeff Sanders, President of Lagardere Sports Golf Events, management company of the Albertsons Boise Open. “Its been a long and enjoyable ride since our first year in 1990 and we are so pleased that the event continues to support deserving charities in the Boise community.”
 
Through the Tyson Foods TICKETS Fore CHARITY program, 100% of tournament ticket sales are given directly to Boise area charities.
 
The Albertsons Boise Open is the second of the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals where the top 75 professionals from the Korn Ferry Tour and 75 PGA TOUR professionals will compete for 25 PGA TOUR cards for next season.
 
This week the spotlight will be on Boise as 150 of the world’s best golfers compete at Hillcrest Country Club. The list of PGA TOUR players who have routed through Boise on their way to the PGA TOUR is legendary including names like Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland and many others. This year alone, 29 of the 50 PGA TOUR events were won by players who also played at the Albertsons Boise Open in the past.
 
Golf Channel will broadcast this week’s tournament internationally to more than 800 Million viewers worldwide.
 
The tournament offers many special events and amenities for fans to enjoy at no additional charge including The Idaho Statesman Junior Golf Clinic presented by Tyson Foods, held on Wednesday at 5:00 PM and the Litehouse Foods Family Day on Sunday from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Fans can also enjoy on-course hospitality at no additional charge in the MillerCoors Fan Deck on the 18th hole, the Michelob Ultra Beers Fore Birdies tent on the 16th hole and the Fan Zone adjacent to the 18th fairway.
 
Daily tickets to the tournament are $15, weekly tickets are just $25 and kids 17 and under get in free all week with a ticketed adult. To purchase tickets supporting Boise area charities and for more information, visit AlbertsonsBoiseOpen.com.

The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco announced today that country music star Justin Moore will perform after golf concludes on Saturday evening, August 24th at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise, ID.
 
The Albertsons Boise Open returns to Hillcrest Country Club the week of August 19-25, and again features 75 PGA TOUR players and the top 75 Web.com Tour players off the 2019 money list as they compete for 25 PGA TOUR cards and ONE MILLION dollars in prize money.
 
The Saturday evening Justin Moore concert adds to the robust fan experience that also features a Fan Zone on the 18th fairway including popular local food options and craft beer. The Saturday night concert will take place on the Pepsi stage located in the Fan Zone off the 18th fairway and admission to both the Saturday night concert and the Fan Zone are included with either a weekly or Saturday good-any-one-day golf tournament ticket. 
 
Justin Moore’s songs, including seven country #1 singles, have racked up more than a billion streams globally, and he has performed everywhere from The Today Show to headlining arenas around the country. In 2014, he landed the coveted New Artist of the Year trophy at the ACM Awards after releasing his critically acclaimed third album, ‘Off The Beaten Path.’ Then, in 2016 he dropped ‘Kinda Don’t Care,’ his third consecutive #1 record. The New York Times hailed Moore as proof that “old forms can stand even stronger with injections of new ideas,” while Billboard celebrated his “down-home personality and wry sense of humor,” and Rolling Stone praised the “upbeat mix of contemporary country and honest twang that he perfected.”
 
Moore released a new album, ‘Late Nights and Longnecks,’ on April 26 which included his hit single “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home,” which is currently #23 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.
 
“We are excited to bring country star Justin Moore to this year’s event to perform on Saturday night after golf for our fans near the 18th fairway in the Fan Zone,” said Jeff Sanders, Executive Director of the Albertsons Boise Open. “It’s the 30th anniversary of this amazing Boise event and Albertsons is proud to make this year’s edition bigger than last year at an affordable price. Fans will see incredible PGA TOUR golf, enjoy a menu filled with food and drinks and stay for great country music on Saturday night, all for only $15. And to top it off, 100% of all ticket sales benefit Treasure Valley charities!"
 
In addition to the exciting PGA TOUR golf, the Saturday night concert and the Fan Zone, all fans can enjoy the Michelob Ultra Beers FORE Birdies venue on the 16th green. This fan hospitality venue will feature half-priced beers for five minutes after any professional makes birdie (or better) on the par-5 16th hole. Admission to the Michelob Ultra Beers FORE Birdies venue is included in all event tickets. There are no cover charges or upgraded tickets needed.
 
The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco is in its 30th year with Albertsons as the title sponsor and has generated more than 23 MILLION dollars for Treasure Valley Charities since the inaugural event in 1990. 
 
Tickets to the Albertsons Boise Open Web.com Tour Finals event are on sale now. For more information on the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco or to purchase tickets please visit www.albertsonsboiseopen.com .

With a clutch birdie on the 18th, Bae emerged from a packed leaderboard
 
The twenty-ninth annual Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco concluded today at Hillcrest Country Club. The tournament marks the third of four Web.com Tour Finals events where the top 75 Web.com Tour players are met by players ranked 126-200 on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup points list.
 
Three players began the Sunday’s final round in a share of the lead, Scott Pinckney, Roberto Diaz and Sangmoon Bae. After opening his round with three consecutive birdies, Bae jumped out to a two-shot lead. With the course yielding lower scores, Bae had to fend off charges from a handful of players. Anders Albertson carded the low round of the day, a 9-under 62 to take the clubhouse lead at 18-under. Roger Sloan and Adam Schenk each reached 18-under and with the final pairing of Pinckney and Diaz falling off the pace, this set the stage for Bae.
 
A two-time PGA TOUR winner, Bae is in his first season back after serving a mandatory two-year military tour of duty in his home country of South Korea. Bae’s standing after each round this week was T-2, T-1, T-1 and eventually, number one at the conclusion of Sunday. Standing on the 18th tee tied for the lead, Bae laced a driver down the left side of the fairway. This left him 110 yards to the iconic elevated 18th green at Hillcrest, needing a birdie to win. “It was the perfect number, I hit a full 56-degree wedge and hit it just perfect,” said Bae following the round. With his approach settling eight feet from the hole, Bae rolled in the birdie putt, eliciting a roar for the ages from the gallery at the closing hole.  
 
Bae will make his return to the PGA TOUR at next week’s Safeway Open in Napa, CA. He has already won there once before in 2015 which led to him earning a spot on the 2015 International Presidents Cup team.
 
The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco will return to Hillcrest Country Club for the 30th anniversary next year. The tournament is one of only four events on the schedule that have remained since the Tour’s inception in 1990.

Scott Pinckney Cards Low Round of the Day to Share Lead
 
The twenty-ninth annual Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco continued today at Hillcrest Country Club. The tournament marks the third of four Finals events where the top 75 Web.com Tour players are met by players ranked 126-200 on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup points list.
 
Scott Pinckney began Saturday’s third round four shots off of the lead. After a bogey free round of 63 he’ll enter the final round in position to move from 85th on the Money List into the top five, securing his PGA TOUR card in the process. The Arizona State alum spent the majority of last season sidelined with severe back injuries. After being diagnosed with a dehydrated disk the question became day-to-day comfort, much less playing competitive golf. “It kind of changed my perspective,” said Pickney when asked about his struggles with injury. He closed with a birdie to get to 14-under par and will play in tomorrow’s final pairing.
 
Sharing the lead with Pinckney are Roberto Diaz and Sangmoon Bae. Diaz has posted consecutive top-25’s in the first two Web.com Tour Finals events and is positioned nicely to retain his PGA TOUR card for the second consecutive year. Bae has never trailed by more than one here in Boise. He ended today just as he began, with a share of the lead. The two-time PGA TOUR winner and 2015 International Presidents Cup team member has played the final three holes at Hillcrest in 7-under through his first three rounds. He’ll look to continue that trend down the stretch tomorrow afternoon.
 
2017 champion Chesson Hadley began his final round five shots off of the lead. Tomorrow 31 players will begin their rounds within five. PGA TOUR winners Aaron Baddeley, Jonathan Byrd, Fabian Gomez and former World Number One Amateur Curtis Luck are among those within striking distance.
 
Gates open tomorrow at 7:30 AM. For final round pairings and tee times click HERE.

36-Hole Co-Leader Brett Drewitt Led the Junior Clinic on Wednesday Evening
 
The twenty-ninth annual Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco continued today at Hillcrest Country Club. The tournament marks the third of four Web.com Tour Finals events where the top 75 Web.com Tour players are met by players ranked 126-200 on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup points list.
 
At Wednesday’s Idaho Statesman Junior Clinic presented by Tyson Foods, player guest Brett Drewitt undoubtedly gained a few new fans. The Australian spent two hours on the range demonstrating ball flights, shot shapes and swing thoughts to the two-hundred youngsters in attendance, answering questions from the crowd along the way. Through two rounds, Drewitt has given his fans plenty to cheer about with rounds of 69-63 to open in 10-under par. His second round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 16th which he followed with a birdie on 17.
 
Alex Prugh, a University of Washington alum, birdied five of his final eight holes to post a 6-under par 65. Prugh is playing his best golf of the year at the perfect time with four top-10 finishes in his last seven starts. With his PGA TOUR card already secure via his top-25 regular season money list finish, the 34-year old will look to punctuate his run with a win here in Boise.
 
Sangmoon Bae birdied the 18th hole for the second consecutive day to grab a share of the lead. Bae is winding down his first season since serving a mandatory two-year military tour of duty in his home country of South Korea. He was a member of the 2015 International Presidents Cup team and has two career PGA TOUR victories.
 
Two players sit just one shot back, Henrik Norlander of Sweden and two-time PGA TOUR winner Fabian Gomez. Norlander’s best finish of the season came at The Price Cutter Charity Championship where he finished second. Gomez played on the PGA TOUR this season. He has two career wins, the 2015 FedEx St. Jude Classic and the 2016 Sony Open.
 
31 players sit within four shots of the lead entering the weekend. Among those in contention are 2016 Albertsons Boise Open Champion Michael Thompson and Martin Trainer who has two wins to his credit already and will look to become the first player since Wesley Bryan to win three times in a Web.com Tour season.
 
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s Cheap Trick took the stage immediately after play concluded marking the largest concert in Albertsons Boise Open history. Gates open at 7:30 AM tomorrow, for third round pairings and tee times click HERE.

The twenty-ninth annual Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco began this morning at Hillcrest Country Club. Players were greeted by brisk, breezy conditions early in the day as Web.com Tour Finals action resumed. The tournament marks the third of four Finals events where the top 75 Web.com Tour players are met by players ranked 126-200 on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup points list.
 
Thursday belonged to 36-year old David Skinns who closed with a birdie on the 18th to finish at 7-under par, good for a one-shot lead. Skinns played only 36 holes at last year’s Albertsons Boise Open, however he left under much different circumstance than those players who missed the cut. After opening with rounds of 69-66 in 2017, Skinns sat in a tie for ninth with a chance to earn his PGA TOUR card for the first time.
 
He would ultimately withdraw from the event to be with his wife when she went into labor with the couple’s second child in Georgia. The Englishman returned to the Web.com Tour this season where he won the Pinnacle Bank Championship in July. With a win this weekend he would secure his PGA TOUR card for the first time in his 12-year career.
 
Skinns will need to hold off a host of household names. PGA TOUR winner’s Sangmoon Bae and Fabian Gomez each sit one shot off of the lead at 6-under par. Bae is in his first full season since fulfilling his mandatory two-year military duty in his home country of South Korea. Bae competed on the International President’s Cup team in 2015. Gomez is a two-time PGA TOUR winner with victories at the 2015 FedEx St. Jude Classic and the 2016 Sony Open.
 
Gates open tomorrow at 7:30 AM and all fans receive admission to the Cheap Trick Concert Live on the Pepsi Stage with their golf ticket. The concert will begin at 7:15 PM, immediately after the conclusion of play. For second round pairings and tee times click HERE.

The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco announced today that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Cheap Trick will perform after golf concludes on Friday evening, September 14th at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise, ID.
 
The Albertsons Boise Open returns to Hillcrest Country Club the week of September 13-16, and again features 75 PGA TOUR players and the top 75 Web.com Tour players off the 2018 money list as they compete for 25 PGA TOUR cards and ONE MILLION DOLLARS in prize money.
 
The Friday evening Cheap Trick concert adds to the enhanced fan experience that also features an all-new Fan Zone on the 18th fairway including popular local food options and craft beer. The Friday night concert, presented by General Mills, will take place on the Pepsi stage located in the all new Fan Zone off the 18th fairway and admission to both the Friday night concert and the Fan Zone are included with either a weekly or Friday good any one day golf tournament ticket. 
 
With over 5,000 performances spanning four decades and 20 million records sold worldwide, Cheap Trick is undoubtedly one of the most influential classic rock groups of the past 50 years. The band was formed in 1974 and while it has evolved throughout the years, Cheap Trick has continued to reach mainstream and critical success. Hits such as “I Want You To Want Me,” “Dream Police,” and “Surrender” have cemented the group as one of America’s top rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time.
 
“We are excited to bring in popular rock band Cheap Trick to perform Friday night for our fans in the all new 18th fairway Fan Zone,” said Jeff Sanders, Executive Director of the Albertsons Boise Open. “Albertsons stepped it up again this year creating an amazing fan experience at affordable pricing. Everyone who comes out to the event is going to have a great time. Fans will see incredible PGA TOUR golf, enjoy a menu filled with food and drinks and rock and roll to Cheap Trick on Friday night all for only $15. And to top it off, 100% of all ticket sales benefit Treasure Valley charities!"
 
Another new addition to the fan experience is the Michelob Ultra Beers FORE Birdies venue on the 16th green. This fan hospitality venue will feature half-priced beers for five minutes after any professional makes birdie (or better) on the par-5 16th hole. Admission to the Michelob Ultra Beers FORE Birdies venue is included in all event tickets. There are no cover charges or upgraded tickets needed.
 
The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco is in its 29th year with Albertsons as the title sponsor and has generated more than $21,500,000 for Treasure Valley Charities since the inaugural event in 1990. 
 
Tickets to the Albertsons Boise Open Web.com Tour Finals event are on sale now. For more information on the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco or to purchase tickets please visit www.albertsonsboiseopen.com.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco conducted annually at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise, Id. was awarded with the Web.com Tour’s Best Pro-Am Experience Award at the PGA TOUR’s Tournament Meetings on Thursday, December 7 in Boca Raton, Fla.
 
“We are honored to present the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft & Nabisco with this wonderful award,” said Web.com Tour President Dan Glod. “The tournament team did an incredible job creating a first-class experience for both amateur players and Web.com Tour professionals and we’re pleased to recognize their efforts.”
 
As the Web.com Tour event with the Best Pro-Am Experience the Albertsons Boise Open delivered on numerous fronts, including:

• Hershey Pro-Am Monday & Tuesday
• Pro-Am dinner and concert featuring Little Big Town
• Three premier golf courses hosting Pro-Am competition

 
“This is a tremendous honor to receive the award for best Pro-Am Experience,” said Albertsons Boise Open Executive Director Jeff Sanders. “It’s always a special week with the pressure of the Web.com Tour Finals and we look forward each year to creating a premier Pro-Am experience to compliment that.” The 2018 Albertsons Boise Open will return to Hillcrest Country Club September 13-16.