Shore secures two-stroke lead in weather-delayed third round at Osprey Valley
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CALEDON, Ontario – Davis Shore shook off a lengthy rain delay to shoot a 7-under 64 and take the lead after three rounds of PGA TOUR Canada’s Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos CBM Aggregates.
Shore eagled the first hole and added five birdies to climb eight spots and finish at 15-under after 54 holes at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. He holds a two-shot lead over 36-hole leader Blake Maum, who slipped to a 2-over 73 finish, and Brian Carlson, who matched his season-best with a 66. Three players are tied for fourth at 12-under – Canadian Noah Steele and Americans Tommy Kuhl and Matt Liringis, who all shot 68s.
The start of the third round was delayed by more than six hours because of rain. Play began at 2 p.m. with groups playing in threesomes starting off both tees. All players were able to finish before dark.
“Any time you hold a lead in the final group, everybody’s a little tighter, more nervous,” Shore said. “It’s easier said than done, but you’ve got to go play. You can’t put too much pressure on yourself, just play another round.”
Shore, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, who played at the University of Alabama, is coming off a successful season on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, where he had three top-10s, was runner-up at the JHSF Aberto do Brasil and finished the season 13th on the Totalplay Cup points list. Shore made his PGA TOUR Canada debut last week at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open and tied for 28th.
“I played in a couple final groups and I think I learned a lot,” Shore said. “I didn’t get the win I needed on that TOUR, but I’ll just draw from past experience. I’ll need another good round like I had today because there are so many good players on this Tour.”
Shore got his round started with an eagle at the 515-yard par-5. He hit a 5-iron onto the green and made the 10-foot putt for eagle.
“No. 1 is a pretty gettable par-5,” Shore said. “I made par there the first two days and hadn’t hit the fairway. That’s the first order of business. To start out with a three is always a good feeling.”
Carlson, who has one PGA TOUR Canada victory to his name at last year’s Prince Edward Island Open, reeled off four-straight birdies on the back nine and shot 31 on the homeward nine. The West Palm Beach, Florida resident is finally finding his form after winter inactivity that saw him play only five rounds of competitive golf over six months. Carlson spent his time working as a caddie to make the money needed to travel and compete on PGA TOUR Canada.
“I’m just happy to be playing well again,” Carlson said. “I had missed four cuts in a row and got into some really dark places a couple of weeks. It feels great to be making birdies again.”
Maum began the day with a three-shot lead, but was unable to gain any traction. He may have saved his round after making a birdie on the par-3 12th hole, immediately after making bogey on the par-5 11th.
“I hit it to about two inches,” Maum said. “It definitely made me feel a little calmer and more in-it after that. Sometimes when you start to struggle and when you’re not looking at the leaderboards, you feel like you’re sliding further than you really are.”