Dave Carich was by far the biggest mover of the day at
Elcona CC for the third round of the State Open. With the tournament low round
of 67, he moved from back in 21st place into tied for third with CD
Hockersmith, on a day when very few players were able to find a round under
par. “It was the first time in 20 years that I putted without a glove,” said
Carich. “When you are old you have to try new things.” He’s feeling old because
he entered the senior professional ranks just a couple weeks ago. Quinn
Griffing put himself in contention as a new senior in 2008, but
was unable to take the title. If Carich can stay strong on Thursday he could
become the first senior to win.
Carich’s big leap, however, was not enough to catch
front-runner Brian Maurer who fired one of the few subpar rounds (70). He gave himself a
two-shot cushion heading into the final round over Jon DalCorobbo, who hung on for
a 74 Wednesday. “I just couldn’t get comfortable today,” said DalCorobbo. “I really never gave myself a shot at the pin. They were tough pin placements today.”
The final round begins Thursday at 8:00am off of both #1 and
#10 tees. Current standings and final round pairings can be seen here.