Roberto Castro has shot a 3-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead in the Tour Finals' Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship.
Castro birdied the par-4 15th and 16th holes and closed with two pars to finish at 7-under 206 on Ohio State's Scarlet Course on Saturday.
The 30-year-old former Georgia Tech player has made the PGA Tour the past four seasons but slipped to 188th in the FedEx Cup standings to drop into the series that replaced Q-school.
The tournament is the third of four events for the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings and non-members who earned enough money to have placed in the top 200 had they been eligible to receive points.
The top 25 players on the tour's regular-season money list earned PGA Tour cards.
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They are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals.
The other players are fighting for another 25 cards based on series earnings, with Castro entering the week tied for 11th with $US30,118 ($A42,842).
Last year, Eric Axley took the 25th card with $US36,312.
Harold Varner III, Robert Garrigus and Zack Fisher were tied for second at 5 under. Varner had a 66, Garrigus shot 67, and Fisher 69.
