Porter hangs on to lead at Moonah Classic

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FINGAL, VICTORIA, Australia -- Australian Ewan Porter fired a 1-under-par 71 on Saturday to move into sole possession of the lead with just 18 holes remaining at the Moonah Classic -- an inaugural co-sanctioned event on the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia.

Ewan Porter shot a 71 on Saturday. (WireImage)

Porter, a 25-year-old native of Cronulla, Australia, entered the day with a share of the lead but moved out front on his own at 7-under 209 -- one shot clear of fellow Aussies Wayne Perske (72) and Terry Price (70).

"I hit the ball very solid all day," said Porter, who hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. "I feel very comfortable with my golf swing. Every part of my game feels really solid right now."

The round almost never happened for Porter. He battled a stiff neck and shoulder throughout the round -- a result of pre-round workout -- but managed to make it through the day without any further damage.

"I was here about 7 o'clock this morning trying to loosen up," said Porter. "I don't usually do that. I usually would go mid-morning when my body wasn't so stiff. It was really bad. I was so close to withdrawing. I was devastated. My goal was just to tee it up. But it was probably a blessing in disguise because it took pressure off of me thinking what all was at stake."

A trio of Americans are within shouting distance of Porter's lead, including Tee McCabe (69) at two shots back and D.J. Brigman (68) and Fran Quinn (70) three strokes behind.

It was Brigman who made the biggest move on Saturday, equaling the round of the day with a 4-under-par 68 despite the fact that his scorecard featured four bogeys.

"You're going to make mistakes in conditions like this," said Brigman, a 31-year-old native of Clovis, New Mexico. "I went into the day knowing I was going to make some bogeys. I just had to follow up with some birdies and I was able to do that."

Brigman posted birdies on Nos. 1, 4, 7, 9, 12 and 14, but the highlight of the round was an eagle on the par-5 15th hole -- set up by a perfectly-struck hybrid from 214 yards to just eight feet of the hole.

"I was a little undecided on which club to hit but I stuck with the hybrid and hit a really good one in there," said the former golf standout at the University of New Mexico.

Brigman will enter the final round looking for his second career Tour win, after posting his maiden victory at the 2003 Permian Basin Charity Golf Classic. He's making his third start of the season, with his only made cut resulting in a tie for 55th place finish at the inaugural Mexico Open.

"I'm in a position where I've got to be aggressive," said Brigman. "When I won previously on Tour I had to come from behind, and I actually prefer it that way."

Brigman also likes the challenge that the wind-swept Moonah Links will offer for Sunday's final 18 holes.

"I like playing here," said Brigman. "The course reminds me a little of Royal Adelaide. You have to use imagination on a lot of the shots and just grind it out."

For the third consecutive day, heavy winds reaching nearly 40 mph made play extremely difficult at the par-72 Moonah Links. The third-round scoring average soared to 73.182, while the cumulative average through three rounds stands at 74.609.

"The wind played havoc out there," said Brigman. "There was a lot of indecision but I committed to my shots and I made some good ones. It really doesn't matter how you hit it. You hit some shots that are pretty ordinary. The wind gets them and as opposed to going 20 feet off line, they go 30 yards off line. It is like a 20-handicapper hitting a shot normally with no wind."

Third Round News & Notes: Tournament leader Ewan Porter has made just seven cuts in 25 career starts on the Nationwide Tour, with a 48th place finish at last week's rain-shortened HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship his career-best effort ... If past Nationwide Tour events in Australia are any indication, Porter has a great chance to win on Sunday. In six previous events, the 54-hole leader has gone on to win five times ... Joining Brigman with the round of the day (68) was Fabian Gomez, Jarrod Lyle and Adam Crawford ... Sunday's winner will take home $153,000 (AUD) out of the total purse of $850,000 (AUD).