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Complete Forecast for  Sep 05 2008

TOP JOBS

By SHANE STARK Staff Writer Martin Piller approached the 18th green much like Friday — tied for the lead.

Only this time, he left it all alone.

In his first professional tournament, Piller sank a long birdie putt to finish the third round of the Texas State Open at 3-under 67.

“It was perfect, really,” Piller said. “I was hitting where I was looking, and putting where I was looking. Golf is pretty easy when you do that.”

Piller, a former Texas A&M player, will enter today’s final round at 10-under 200 at The Cascades Golf Club. He’s one stroke ahead of Shawn Stefani, Shaun Melville and amateur Dustin Garza.

Piller’s round highlighted a day when a noticeable shift occurred on the leaderboard. Pablo Acuna, the first- and second-round co-leader, fell into a tie for 10th at 6-under following a 70.

“It was a rough day,” Acuna said. “I didn’t hit the ball very good. (Piller) started off really well. He ran into some trouble in the middle of the round, but he stayed patient and it definitely paid off.”

Piller and Acuna entered the day all knotted up, but Piller looked to pull away with birdies on half the opening eight holes. Acuna, meanwhile, had bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8 to fall behind by four strokes.

But on the back nine, Acuna pulled back to within one. However, he had a double bogey and Piller had an eagle to create another four-stroke gap between the day’s final pair.

In Acuna’s place, a stream of golfers loudly made their case for the $25,000 championship check. Stefani, Melville and Garza each recorded personal lows for the tournament on course to a first-place tie — just prior to Piller’s final birdie.

“Today went really well, said Melville, a two-year pro looking for his first victory. “I hit a lot of fairways and greens. (Winning) is what I’ve been wanting to do all year. I’ve come close.”

The same went for Stefani, whose 65 tied for the day’s lowest score.

“I had a lot of fun out there, and that’s the most important thing,” Stefani said. “I got off to a good start, made some pars and then started making a few birdies. It kind of gave me some confidence to keep going.”

Piller surely agrees. This year, the Duncanville High School graduate has been absent from tournament play. And this summer, he’s spent the majority of his time earning final credits toward a Texas A&M degree.

“It doesn’t really feel like so much of a debut,” said Piller, a two-time low amateur at the State Open. “This is my fourth year to play in it, and the last two years here I’ve been up near the lead most of the time ... but it is exciting; it’s where I want to be for sure.”

Piller, whose second-round 64 is the tournament low, took little time to make another strong push for the championship. After pars on the first two holes, he had three straight birdies — on par 3 No. 5, on which he recorded a hole-in-one Friday, he made a 15-foot putt to dramatically shift the mood of the round. Following his fourth birdie of the round (No. 18), Piller seemed to gravitate toward the sand and bogeyed three of the first four holes after the turn. But his fortunes began to change on No. 14, when he scored his eagle. He then played even the rest of the way. “Coming into this tournament I already knew the course,” Piller said. “I already know kinda the people here. I know the city. I get to stay with a guy who’s on our team, so it makes for a nice, cheap trip. “It feels like I’m just playing another State Open, really. It’s just become kind of a tradition. I come out here every year and I play well.” The top 10 includes Scott Abbott (fifth, 8-under), Dawie Van Der Walt (sixth, 7-under), Adam Meyer (7-under), Martin Flores (7-under), amateur Christopher Ward (7-under), Thomas Ostasik (10th, 6-under) and Ryan Posey (6-under).