SNOW HILL — Day 3 of the Cutter Creek Golf Classic saw another shake up atop the leaderboard Saturday as former N.C. State standout Adam Hogue shot a 6-under 66 to move to 11-under for the 54-hole lead.
The 66 by Hogue marked the third day of the four-day tournament where a score of 6-under or better pushed a golfer to the top position on the board.
Brian Richey, who is tied for third at 9-under, posted the day’s other low round.
Hogue, who posted a 5-under on Thursday, started Saturday’s round by birdying hole No. 1 and scoring an eagle on the 545-yard, par-5 second hole en route to shooting his first bogey-free round of the tournament.
“I’m excited, I’ve never really been in this position before,” he said of the prospect of winning his first tour event. “This week I’ve really work on course management. You have to miss it in the right spots, because if you miss it on the wrong side of the whole around here you’re going to have to work really hard.”
While course officials were worried late Friday afternoon about the potential for firm greens for the weekend rounds, morning showers started about halfway through Hogue’s round.
“We didn’t really have rain until the 10th hole, so we were able to get off to a good start before the bad weather came,” he said.
Tennessee native Hunter Green will be paired with Hogue during today’s final round. Green is the only golfer to post three rounds of scores in the 60s. He sits at 10-under for the tournament after posting a 3-under 69 on Saturday.
Green’s round included six birdies, but a trio of bogeys, including a pair to close out the front nine, kept him from a share of the lead. However, he did shot his best score of the week on the back nine, including three birdies and no holes over par.
“I’ve been getting off to a rough start every day,” Green said of his troubles on the first nine holes. “There were a lot of holes out there that you couldn’t birdie today, I had some good chances and I finally made some putts on the backside.”
Thirteen golfers will start today’s final round within four shots of the lead, including a four-way tie for third place at 9-under. Of the six international players to make the cup, South Korean Jin Jeong (9-under through Round 3) and Canadian Ben Silverman (7-under) are the only two poised to make a run at the tournament championship.
Leaderboard
Cutter Creek Classic
At Cutter Creek Golf Club, Snow Hill
Purse: $150,000
Yardage: 7,280
Par: 72
Third round
1. Adam Hogue 67-72-66—205 -11
2. Hunter Green 69-68-69—206 -10
T3. Brian Richey 68-73-66—207 -9
T3. Jin Jeong 69-71-67—207 -9
T3. Paul Apyan 72-68-67—207 -9
T3. Matt Hendrix 70-66-71—207 -9
T7. Mitchell Gregson 69-70-69—208 -8
T7. Travis Hampshire 69-69-70—208 -8
T7. Jesse Hutchins 68-69-71—208 -8
T10. Eric Axley 69-70-70—209 -7
T10. Ken Looper 69-70-70—209 -7
T10. Chris Wolfe 69-70-70—209 -7
T10. Ben Silverman 71-68-70—209 -7