Greer, SC – Steve LeBrun and Brad Fritsch both birdied their final holes Saturday to emerge from the field and take the lead after three rounds of the BMW Charity Pro-Am.
The two finished 54 holes at 12-under par 203, and hold a one-stroke lead over five players -- James Hahn, Alex Prugh, Nick Flanagan, Robert Streb and Andy Pope.
Saturday was the final day the tournament used three South Carolina courses, which each person in the field played once over the first three rounds. The host course -- Thornblade Club -- will be used for Sunday's final round.
LeBrun played at Greenville Country Club and fired a five-under 67, while Fritsch was at The Carolina Country Club and shot a four-under 68. Neither of the co-leaders has won a Nationwide Tour event, though both have earned at least one top-10 finish this season.
Prugh (66), Flanagan (67) and Pope (70) all teed off at Carolina, while Hahn (69) and Streb (70) played the Greenville course. They share third at 11- under 204.
Second-round leader Cameron Percy shot a three-over 75 at Greenville and fell into a tie for eighth at minus-10. Tyrone van Aswegen carded a 67 at Carolina to reach the same score.
Percy was in the first group off the 10th tee at Greenville and immediately went backward, opening his round with three bogeys and a double bogey in his first four holes.
The Australian birdied 15, but began his front nine with two more bogeys. He managed to birdie four of the next six holes, but it wasn't enough to make up for his earlier mistakes, and a closing bogey dropped him to minus-10.
His struggles opened the door for the field, and numerous players moved past him.
LeBrun teed off six groups after Percy and didn't get off to the best start, dropping a shot at 10. But that was his only bogey of the round. The 34-year- old rolled in his first birdie at 12, then drained two in a row from the 16th.
He made back-to-back birdies again from the fourth to reach 11-under, and ended his round with another.
"Just a solid day," LeBrun said. "I bogeyed my first hole but hung in there like I have all week. I'm not hitting it the best but my short game is keeping me in there."
Fritsch began his round on the back nine at Carolina, shortly after LeBrun got started.
The Canadian remained at eight-under following a birdie-bogey sequence from the 11th, but ran home two birdies in a row from the 15th. Fritsch made the turn at 10-under and sank birdies at one and sixth before a bogey at eight set him back. But a birdie at the par-five ninth allowed him to join LeBrun at minus-12.
"Fortunately I was able to get it up and down," Fritsch said. "It was probably 90 feet on the first putt. So that was good."
Hahn, Prugh and Flanagan reached 11-under thanks to bogey-free rounds. Hahn recorded three birdies and Prugh had six, including four in a row from the ninth. Flanagan, meanwhile, used an eagle and three birdies to climb up the leaderboard.
Streb and Pope endured rockier rounds.
Streb's front nine at Greenville was a roller-coaster -- a bogey at one, eagle at three, bogey at six and birdie at seven. He birdied 10, but fell back to minus-nine thanks to bogeys at 12 and 14. Streb only claimed a share of third because he birdied his final two holes.
Pope was primed for a big round after he birdied his three opening holes. Another birdie at seven pushed him to 13-under, but he lost most of the ground he gained in only two holes.
A bogey at eight and a double bogey on the next hole wiped out three strokes, and put him at 10-under going around the turn. He couldn't get going again, totaling two birdies and a bogey on the back nine.
NOTES: Unlike Carolina and Greenville, Thornblade is a par-71 course...The cut was made Saturday, and fell at four-under 211. Among those to miss the cut were Hudson Swafford, Luke List, Alex Aragon and Skip Kendall, who have all won on tour this season.
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