Bettencourt's 65 puts him in prime position on Sunday

text size

JUNCTION CITY, Ore. -- Matt Bettencourt took golf's "moving day" to heart by firing a 7-under-par 65 and taking over first-place in the Oregon Classic. The Greenville, S.C., resident put together the day's best effort to grab a three-shot lead over second-round leader Bubba Dickerson, who rallied with birdies on the last three holes to gain a spot in Sunday's final pairing.

Ferrey/Getty Images

Matt Bettencourt finished fifth at last week's Nationwide Tour event.

Inside the numbers

54-hole leaderboard

Pos Player Round 3 To par 1 Matt Bettencourt 65 -16 2 Bubba Dickerson 70 -13 T3 Spencer Levin 66 -12 T3 Brian Smock 68 -12 T5 Hunter Haas 69 -10 T5 Ryan Hietala 70 -10 T5 Darron Stiles 72 -10

Bettencourt emerged from a jammed leaderboard during a cool, windy day at Shadow Hills Country Club to match the tournament record for the largest 54-hole lead. His 16-under 200 score is one shy of the tournament mark set by Jason Gore in 2002.

Spencer Levin (66) and Brian Smock (68) are at 12-under and tied for third. Hunter Haas (69), Ryan Hietala (70) and Darron Stiles (72) share fifth place at 10-under, six back of Bettencourt, who is looking for his first career win.

"I can't get ahead of myself and I know I won't do that," said Bettencourt of Sunday's final round in the $525,000 event. "When I get up there on the first tee, it's like any other round. Just calm down and try to hit a nice tee shot."

Bettencourt moved to the top of the leaderboard because he was best able to solve the swirling winds as well as knock in some putts on a day when the scoring average was 71.047.

"I've started putting well," said the leader, who finished fifth a week ago at the Albertsons Boise Open. "It's amazing when you catch the ball on the sweet spot and you keep your head still. You actually hit your lines. It's fun to hit the ball where you're trying to hit it."

Dickerson wasn't as fortunate, making a pair of bogeys on his first four holes to put himself in a catch-up position for the rest of the chilly afternoon.

"I struggled with my driver a little more today than I have been," said Dickerson after hitting nine of 14 fairways. "I managed to steady the ship by the turn."

Dickerson rolled in birdies at Nos. 5, 7 and 9 to get close to the lead but then suffered two more bogeys in his next five holes to fall back again. By then, Levin was in the clubhouse at 12-under and Smock and Stiles had plenty of time to add to their totals.

"I couldn't find the wind on the back nine," said Dickerson. "It started swirling around. It was blowing one way when you stood over the ball and was blowing another way by the time you hit it."

The former Florida Gator was able to keep his mind off his troubles by getting scoring updates on the Ryder Cup and the Florida-Tennessee football game throughout the day. He then found his rhythm late by rolling in short birdie putts to close the gap on Bettencourt.

"I was trying to make a couple pars and birdie the last hole," he said. "To shoot two-under for the day, I was happy at that point."

Third-Round News & Notes: Leading money-winner Brendon de Jonge shot a 5-over-par 77, matching his highest score of the year. It was only his third over-par score in his last 41 rounds. His other over-par scores during this stretch were a 1-over-par 73 and a 1-over-par 71. He ranks No. 2 on Tour in Third-Round Scoring Average.