Alex Ellis shot three under par 68 at Roy Kizer during the third round of the 2012 Austin Men's City Championship to increase his lead from four to six shots and stands at eleven under par. Ellis, who was five under par for the round headed into #16, suffered the fate of many players when his second shot failed to hold the windblown and hard putting surface, resulting in a bogey. Another bogey on #17 allowed the rest of the field to at least keep sight of Ellis.
Brian Noonan, shown here with Trent Redfern, started the day at two under par then fashioned a journeyman like bogey free round of 68 and moved into second place with a five under par total after three rounds. Noonan, who won the title in 2006 & 2007, has recently regained his amateur status after playing professionally for a couple of years. He said he's enjoying being a mid-amateur golfer and being involved in the Austin golfing community again. He will have to post a low round to have any chance of catching Ellis but Noonan indicated that he likes having the mindset of going low.
Seth Stuart, who recently finished his eligibilty playing for the College of Charleston, combined four birdies with three bogies to post a one under par 70 and move into third place. Stuart recently won the Hill Country Amateur with a low first round and has the length to post a low round at Kizer.
Ironically, all three of the leaders have close ties to former Austinite Mark McIntire, who won a state high school individual championship while at Anderson High, then went on to play for the University of Texas. McIntire coached the St. Edwards Golf Teams for a while before moving on the L.S.U. where he was the assistant coach of the golf team before moving to the head golf coaching job at the College of Charleston. Noonan played for McIntire at St. Edwards while Ellis and Stuart play at the College of Charleston. Tim Mitchell, who is in 6th place at -1, also plays at the College of Charleston.
Kody King, the defending champion, posted 69 and moved into fourth place while Trent Redfern, who plays for the University of Arizona, shot even par and remains at -2 , good for 5th place.
Tee times for the fourth round and a full leaderboard are available at this link.
Congratulations to the Steve Hammond and his staff at the Jimmy Clay/Roy Kizer complex and all the volunteers who are helping with the tournament. Their efforts have resulted in golf courses that are in good shape and a well run tournament that the players have enjoyed. The PAR rules group has been present throughout the entire tournament and players appreciate having qualified rules officials present.
The final round will include an increased presence of volunteers taking scores after the front nine and then in three hole increments throughout the back nine so you can follow the action more closely at this link or on the GolfAustin.Org free mobile app for I-Phones and Android devices. The app is available in the application store.