Straub takes over lead with 67

Timothy Straub, who is playing in his first Buy.com Tour event of the season, carded a five-under 67 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead at 17-under-par 199 after three rounds of the Upstate Classic at the Verdae Greens Golf Club.

Shane Bertsch and second-round leader Vaughn Taylor are tied for second at 15-under par.

Straub, the 1983 United States Junior Champion, got off to a rocky start with a bogey at the second hole when his seven-iron shot flew over the green and he failed to get up and down. He immediately shook off the mistake with three consecutive birdies beginning at the third.

"The putt on number-three was key because I hit it straight downhill, 15-footer and it was going four-feet by the hole if it didn't go in and it went in and got me going," said Straub, who was recently hired as the golf coach at Davidson College in North Carolina.

He added four birdies the rest of the way, including one at 18 after his 35-foot eagle putt barely missed the hole. He would tap in the birdie and take a two-shot advantage.

"I made a lot of putts," stated Straub, who lost a playoff to PGA Tour veteran Tom Lehman in the 1991 Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic. "Haven't missed hardly any short ones. And that's what you have to do."

Bertsch, like Straub, bogeyed the second hole. He then ran off nine birdies over the rest of his round for an eight-under-par 64. The score is one short of the tournament record.

"I've been playing pretty well for a while now so I think it's just how I've been going," said Bertsch, who tied for third at last week's Hershey Open. "I feel like I've been out here for a while, seven weeks in a row, but I'm not going to take a break if I'm playing good."

Bertsch began the day six strokes away from lead. He played eight groups behind the leaders.

Taylor, who is playing in only his second event this season, shot a two-under 70 on Sunday, placing him in the tie for second.

"I was pretty nervous today," said Taylor, who led the tournament after 36 holes. "I didn't know what to expect. Never really calmed down all day."

Taylor started with a birdie at the par-four first hole but made a double-bogey at the fourth hole. He rebounded with three birdies on his front nine to go out at two-under 34. He made one birdie and one bogey on the back to join Bertsch at minus-15.

Vance Veazey, a two-time winner on the Buy.com Tour, fired a seven-under 65 and sits alone in fourth at 14-under.

Veazey played with Bertsch and the pairing made a total of 17 birdies.

"I tell you, Shane and I are good friends and enjoy playing together," said Veazey, whose highest finish this season was a tie for 12th at the Knoxville Open. "It seemed like every time I would make a birdie, he would put one in on top of it and vice versa."

John Elliott recorded a hole-in-one at the 11th hole. He used a pitching wedge from 139 yards for the 11th ace in the history of the event and the 14th on the Buy.com Tour this year.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page