As he discussed his now guaranteed promotion to the PGA Tour next year earlier this week, Frankie Capan III kept referring to the final two events of this Korn Ferry Tour season.

Yes, exciting things on the horizon for the North Oaks’ native, but he was also looking forward to the work left to do on his current tour this year. And it’s shown in his play this week.

Capan fired a 5-under round of 66 in the third round of the Nationwide Children’s Championship on Saturday at Ohio State University Golf Club in Columbus to get to 12-under for the week and carry a one-shot lead into the final round.

He’s shot three rounds in the 60s this week. Saturday’s round featured four birdies, an eagle and just one bogey on a course where he told reporters you have to “play smart.”

“You really can’t force it around this place. I’m hitting some really good iron shots, which is nice,” he said. “Yeah, just try and take advantage anywhere you can. Was able to get a few putts to go and finished off with a couple birdies, which is nice.”

Unlike many Korn Ferry Tour events throughout the campaign, this one isn’t played on a course where you can go particularly low. It’s also a place where the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas have won in the past en route to sterling PGA Tour careers. Perhaps there’s correlation there?

“I would say this course is a PGA Tour-style course,” Capan said. “You know, it’s just a very solid golf course. You have to hit driver out here on most holes and hit really quality shots all around this place to score well. So I think you’re able to probably get away with some misses on some of the courses we play throughout the year. At a course like this I think it definitely is more of a PGA TOUR-style course.”

Capan clinched his spot in the top 30 of the season-long points list — which equals a spot on the top pro tour in men’s golf next year — just last week. He entered this week in 14th position on the list. A win this week would move him up to fourth. The higher a player finishes, the better positioned he is to earn starts on the PGA Tour next season. So every point matters.

Capan has had an excellent season on the Korn Ferry Tour to date. He’s notched three top-five finishes, including a pair of runner-up showings. One thing he has yet to earn in two years on this tour is a victory.

That could change Sunday.

“Yeah, it’s really important for me (to get a win). Obviously I would like to knock off a W before I move on up next year,” Capan said. “Really just trying to take advantage of the moment. Been playing some nice golf, so just looking forward to tomorrow.”

Related Articles

Now state’s first PGA Tour card holder in more than a decade, North Oaks’ Frankie Capan III hopes to make Minnesota ‘proud’

North Oaks’ Frankie Capan III clinches PGA Tour card, will be first Minnesotan on top men’s golf tour in more than a decade

Gophers women’s golf: Simley’s McCauley sisters — led by Isabella — helping U continue to climb to new heights

Frankie Capan III’s latest runner-up finish has North Oaks’ product on verge of PGA Tour card

Ballester becomes first Spaniard to win U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine

It seems only natural that the first production staged at 825 Arts, a 1915 silent-film theater in St. Paul that reopened this month as a modern theater venue, would be “Divas & Drag” — and Monday, Sept. 23, is your last chance to catch the show.

“Divas & Drag,” produced by local organization An Opera Theatre, reimagines and recontextualizes what founder Kelly Turpin calls “vintage” operatic music, alongside drag and burlesque performances. This is the third iteration of the show, first staged in 2019 and then last year, and this year’s performance is the first to feature burlesque alongside drag.

This year’s iteration of “Divas & Drag” opened Sept. 19, and remaining showtimes include 7 p.m. Sept. 21, 4 p.m. Sept. 22 and 7 p.m. Sept. 23, a performance that will be ASL-interpreted. The Sept. 22 performance is alcohol-free; refreshments at all shows are provided by Can Can Wonderland. Tickets (pay-as-you’re-able; suggested $20) can be purchased online and more info can be found at anoperatheatre.org.

There’s so much cultural baggage around opera, Turpin said, but it doesn’t need to feel pretentious or inaccessible. It’s just a way of setting emotional stories to music, she said — which makes for a much more natural connection to drag performance than many people think.

“They’re all about the big emotions of how the music makes you feel, how it visually makes you feel, what the artists are choosing to portray,” she said.” Which I think makes it feel a little more approachable, that there’s no tightness around it.”

In this way, the show comes together pretty organically, she said. This year’s “Divas & Drag” is structured like a retro 1960s-era talk show, hosted by a well-known local drag MC who goes by Dick von Dyke. Each segment of the show is a joint performance by one or a few of the cast’s five professional opera singers and nine drag and burlesque performers, including von Dyke and burlesque performer Queenie von Curves as co-artistic producers.

“It’s a lot of puzzle piecing,” Turpin said. “The opera performers send us stuff they love singing or have always wanted to learn or is from a role you feel like you’ll never get hired in that you always want to do. And then, who do we have from the drag and burlesque side who has that vibe — or who could do something completely different from what we would expect?”

A central goal of “Divas & Drag,” and of An Opera Theatre as an organization, Turpin said, is to bring spontaneity and freedom and personal expression into opera. At “Divas & Drag” shows, for example, there aren’t English translations of classical opera lyrics projected above the stage or printed in programs, as some professional companies do — as if to reinforce that the real emotional punch of a good show comes not from the words being sung or an audience member’s knowledge of the show but rather from the artistry of the performance.

“Sometimes performers forget they can have their own ideas or express themselves in different ways and don’t have to mimic what people were doing 50 years ago,” she said. “And then to match that with the drag and burlesque community here in the cities — the top of the top — (performers can) be comfortable with the theatricality of what you’re presenting, and the character and the costumes, so there is room for that improvisational playfulness.”

If you go

What: “Divas & Drag,” a show that pairs up professional opera singers with drag performers to reimagine classic opera works

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21; 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22; 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23; 100-minute showtime includes 15-minute intermission.

Where: 825 Arts, 825 W. University Ave., St. Paul

Tickets: Pay as you’re able; suggested $20 with a “pay it forward” ticket for $35; more info at anoperatheatre.org

Related Articles

Opera review: ‘Suor Angelica’ moves beautifully through Basilica of Saint Mary setting

The Gophers secondary will be shorthanded against Iowa on Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Top Minnesota cornerback Justin Walley and starting safety Aidan Gousby were ruled out, according to the U’s unavailable list posted two hours before the 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

Walley injured his right knee toward the beginning of the 27-0 win over Nevada last week, while Gousby was favoring his arm after a collision late in against the Wolf Pack.

Walley, a senior, has not missed a game in his collegiate career, while Gousby is in his first extended playing time this season. The third-year safety is second on the team with 138 snaps.

The Hawkeyes offense, meanwhile, has struggled to throw, ranking 106th in the nation at 176 yards per game.

Za’Quan Bryan is expected to step in for Walley; the redshirt freshman has played 71 snaps this season, including early against North Carolina in the season opener.

The Gophers’ safeties have rotated this season, with Kerry Brown, Coleman Bryson and Darius Green in the mix. True freshman Koi Perich, who has played 21 snaps this season, could see a bigger role.

Both Gousby and Walley have an interception on the season. Walley has eight tackles and Gousby six.

The Gophers listed five other players out: tight end Pierce Walsh, defensive linemen Theorin Randle and Jaylin Hicks, running back Kadean Johnson and defensive back Jordan Greenhow. Defensive lineman Logan Richter was deemed questionable.

Related Articles

Gophers football: ‘Such a fulfilling win’ over Iowa last season

Gophers football: Quarterback Max Brosmer has link to Iowa

Gophers football: Coach Nick Monroe’s ‘life-changing’ car accident leads to more gratitude

Gophers football vs. Iowa: Keys to game, how to watch and who has the edge

Duffle Bag Boyz: Gophers safeties filling Louis Vuitton bag for every takeaway