Points takes 54-hole lead in Northeast Pennsylvania Classic

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MOSCOW, Pa. -- D.A. Points is hoping history repeats itself in the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. Points shot a 3-under-par 67 in Saturday's third round at Elmhurst Country Club and staked himself to a two-stroke lead heading into the final round of the $525,000 Nationwide Tour event.

D.A. Points is leading the field in putting through three rounds. (Rogash/Getty Images)

Inside the Numbers

Points thru 54 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 1 T2 Birdies 14 T5 Pars 34 T36 Bogeys 5 T45 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 76.2% T8 Driving Distance 294.8 yds. T32 Greens in Regulation 72.2% T34 Putts per Round 27.3 T1 Putts per GIR 1.692 8 Sand Saves 50.0% T20

The 31-year-old University of Illinois grad claimed the title in 2004 and would like nothing better than to return to the winner's circle on Sunday.

Points is at 11-under 199 after 54 holes and leading Brendon de Jonge (63) and Australian lefty Greg Chalmers (69). Rich Barcelo (66), Chris Nallen (67), Jeff Curl (68), former U.S. Amateur champion Bubba Dickerson (67) and rookie Chris Kirk (68) share fourth place, three back of the leader.

Points started the third round in a three-way tie for the lead with Chalmers and Canada's Brad Fritsch (69-203) and moved to the front with five birdies on his first 13 holes, reaching the 14th tee at 13 under par.

"I played solid on the front nine. I hit a lot of good iron shots and made some good putts," said Points. "I was playing good and we had a four-group wait on 14, which really took me out of my rhythm right there. I kind of righted the ship the next few holes. I kept hitting good shots, I just didn't get anything out of them."

Points bogeyed the sometimes-driveable par 4, which measures only 323 yards on the Donald Ross-designed layout, and then bogeyed the uphill 18th as well, reducing his lead from four to two.

"I don't even know what the cushion is and it doesn't matter," said the leader. "There's a lot of golf left. There's 18 holes and I'm going to do my best to birdie every one of them."

Points' strategy in Sunday's final round won't change. He'll play conservatively off the tees and keep his eyes off the scoreboard.

"Even when I won here in '04, I didn't look at the scoreboard the entire final round," he said. "I can't stress enough, I'm not a gambling kind of guy anyway. I like to gamble but not necessarily when it comes to golf. I hit a lot of irons out here. I don't need to hit driver very much. It's not that I don't drive it straight, it's just that there's no need."

Chalmers, No. 4 on the money list and a winner earlier in the year, was tight on Points' heels midway through the round, trailing by one at the turn when the wheels wobbled on the inward nine.

"This golf course is a little sneaky. It doesn't take a whole lot to make a bogey," he said of his 3-over 38 on the back nine. "I made one really bad swing ... but apart from that, it wasn't crazy off-the-wall on the back nine. It was just a couple of loose shots, off a hair and all of a sudden I was 3 over."

De Jonge, winner of last week's Xerox Classic, put himself in prime position with a 7-under 63 that included an ace. The 28-year old former Virginia Tech standout finished nearly three hours in front of the final groups and continues to play the best extended stretch of golf in his life.

"Exactly," he said of his play that now features par-or-better scores in 29 of his last 31 tries. "Just let it ride. I have (enjoyed it), but this game is very, very fickle so I want to enjoy it while I can. It's been a nice stretch and that's why I've kept playing. I was going to take a week off but I figured I was playing well so I may as well keep going."

De Jonge's decision has proven wise. The Zimbabwe-born North Carolina resident has finished fifth and first the past two weeks and moved to No. 2 on the money list. Another win would push him past current No. 1 Jarrod Lyle, who missed the cut this week.

"When you shoot good scores, your confidence is going to get up there," he said. "I'm certainly not going to get ahead of myself by any means."

Third-Round News & Notes: Brendon de Jonge, winner of last week's Xerox Classic in Rochester, NY, aced the 171-yard ninth hole Saturday using a 7-iron. Kyle Reifers also had a hole-in-one on No. 9 during the first round. It's the second ace in this tournament for de Jonge, who accomplished the feat in 2005 at Glenmaura National Golf Club. ... D.A. Points is trying to become only the eighth player in Tour history to win the same event twice and just the second to do it at two different courses. Shane Bertsch won the 2000 BMW Charity Pro-Am at Verdae Greens Golf Club in Greenville, S.C., and then returned to win again in 2005 when the tournament was played on three courses, with the The Cliffs -- Valley serving as the host course. ... Rich Barcelo has some nice memories of Central Pennsylvania, having played in the Little League World Series in Williamsport in 1986. Barcelo, an 11-year old first baseman, represented Tucson, Ariz., in the series. His team lost in the final to a team from Taiwan, 12-0.