Brandon Nagy birdied Nos. 11, 13, 15 and 16 (he started on No. 10 at Thornblade Club to move into the 54-hole lead at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.
Brandon Hagy’s 16-under-par 199 leads the BMW Charity Pro-Am by one stroke entering Sunday’s final round at Thornblade Club.
First-round co-leader Byron Smith and Richy Werenski are tied for second, one shot back of Hagy at 15-under 200.
Hagy entered Saturday’s third round in a two-way tie for third, one shot back of halfway co-leaders Cheng Tsung Pan and Matt Fast after posting rounds of 65-67—132 (12-under).
Jason Allred eagled his final hole of the day at The Preserve at Verdae – the par-5 18th – for a 3-under 69 to keep him in the mix, two shots back of the lead.
Playing at Thornblade Saturday, Nagy birdied Nos. 11, 13, 15 and 16 (he started on No. 10) to move him to 16-under for the tournament with a 4-under 32 on his outward nine.
On his back nine, Hagy recorded nine consecutive pars on the Tom Fazio-designed course to finish with an even-par 35 and a third-round 67.
“Today was my second day in a row going bogey-free, and you’ve got to play pretty solid to do that,” said Hagy.
“But I parred every hole on my back nine, and had several putts that were either lipping out or barely missing. You have to keep trying to stay patient. It was a little frustrating there to hit those shots and not make some birdies.
“I think there are some holes where I can take advantage of my length off the tee. I’ll hit a lot of 3-woods, which makes the fairway pretty wide for me. I think the course definitely sets up well for me,” said Hagy of Thornblade Club. “I think our draw was nice. Finishing here today and then going right back out on the same golf course… it was nice to see that. I just need to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Smith, who blitzed Thornblade Club on Thursday with nine birdies and a first-round 63, followed a disappointing second-round 72 with a 7-under 65 on Saturday at The Preserve at Verdae to vault back into tournament contention.
Werenski, a former Georgia Tech golfer, has steadily improved each day with rounds of 68-67-65—200 pushing him into the Sunday mix.
• The 54-hole cut fell at 7-under 208, with 65 professionals making it to the final round of play.
• Third-round play at The Reserve at Lake Keowee was suspended due to area storms from 1:29 p.m. to 2:34 p.m. for a total delay of 1 hour and 5 minutes.
• The day’s low round belonged to 22-year-old Oliver Goss, who fired an 8-under 64 at The Preserve at Verdae – the low round at that course over the three days.
