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TCU's James Sacheck held a five-shot lead midway through the 100th Texas Amateur Championship at Miramont Country Club.
Then came Bronson.
Bronson Burgoon, the hero of Texas A&M's national championship golf team, fired a bogey-free, 6-under 65 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into Sunday's final round.
"I hit 18 greens," said Burgoon, who is at 7-under for the tournament. "I missed a few shorties, but I was hitting good putts."
Burgoon had a long curling eagle attempt over a ridge at 18 that put him in position to pick up another shot, but his birdie try lipped out.
"That was my day in a nutshell right there," said Burgoon, who changed putters this week. "My speed was a little off, but I was hitting solid putts. I had a lot of lip-outs, but I was rolling it nice and I am putting."
Burgoon got rid of his belly putter for this week.
"Finally I decided, hey, you don't need a belly putter any more. I've always been a great putter and just needed that little confidence."
Burgoon, who extended his amazing spring by playing in the U.S. Open last week, wasn't too upset he didn't go lower Saturday.
"I missed five or six putts inside five feet," Burgoon said. "I could have taken that lead and made it about seven today, literally. I could have gone really low. I did what I wanted to do, giving myself a chance to win, so I'm pretty happy."
Burgoon was one of only seven players who broke par Saturday.
"People are spotting you strokes, so you've got to feel good about that," Burgoon said. "Going into the last round, I honestly thought I would be two or three down."
Miramont gave back much of the beating it had absorbed from Sacheck, who shot a course-record 64 on Friday to take the lead after two rounds. He shot a 78 Saturday and now trails Burgoon by six shots.
"I hit three or four shots that were right at the flag and I was 15 yards long, so I don't know what the heck was going on there," said Sacheck, who also struggled with the putter. "I lipped out about five times and left them about four inches short five times, so it all adds up."
Sacheck's TCU teammate, Travis Woolf, had another solid round of 69 and is in second place, two shots behind Burgoon. Texas-bound Johnathan Schnitzer is alone in third place after finishing his third straight round under par, a 70 that has him at 3-under 209.
"I eagled No. 14 when I chipped in from just short of the green," said Woolf, who also had three bogeys and three birdies. "I just kind of played steady, nothing really too exciting, but that eagle on 14 really helped.
"I didn't have much falling, but was really close. Hopefully, I will get my putter hot tomorrow."
Sacheck had a trio of front-nine bogeys, while Burgoon made the turn at 4 under after birdying consecutive holes twice. He opened the round with two birdies and matched that feat at seven and eight, moving into a tie with Sacheck at 5 under.
Sacheck had eight birdies in Friday's round, but had none Saturday. He double bogeyed the par-3 13th hole.
"I don't wish ill on anybody, but I'm going to need some help from the leaders to have a chance," Sacheck said.
Lufkin's Will Griffin, playing in the final group with Woolf and Sacheck, also had a 78.
Texas A&M's Conrad Shindler is tied for fourth after an erratic round that included six birdies, two bogeys, and a double bogey on the par-4, 454-yard seventh hole. He snapped back into contention with birdies on the next two holes.
"I had a flyer that cost me and led to a double-bogey," Shindler said. "I hit a lot of good shots, made birdies. I had a shot on the front side with 185 [yards] to the back [of the green] and thought, 'Oh, a 7-iron should be perfect.' The thing flies 190 yards, over the green. I made another bogey and was thinking, 'What's going on?'"
He three-putted 18 to finish the round at 70 and is 3 under for the tournament.
"I'm not changing anything, so I'm ready to get back out here," Shindler said. "It will take about a 65 to get a shot. Bronson's pretty solid."
Shindler is tied with Sugar Land's Matt Boyd, who posted his best round of the tournament, a 67. Boyd, who plays for Virginia Tech, played the back nine at 4 under, aided by an eagle at the 569-yard 10th hole.
Georgetown's Riley Pumphrey is 1 over, but he had a career highlight with a hole-in-one on the 11th.
"I hit a 7-iron from about 177 yards and I hit a little draw in," Pumphrey said. "It hit once, bounced and rolled in. It was my first hole-in-one ever. It was just so exciting, almost a shock because I had never made one before, and to have it in competition was awesome."
It completed a goal he had been chasing since he first picked up a plastic golf club as a toddler.
"It really did make the day," Pumphrey said. "I have been close a lot, but they never seem to fall in when you talk to them. It was a total shock."
Burgoon, Woolf, Boyd and Dallas' Anthony Paolucci were the only golfers to post scores in the 60s. An eagle on the par-5 10th hole highlighted the round of for Paolucci, who just concluded his sophomore season of high school golf at Episcopal School of Dallas and is the nation's 7th-ranked junior player. He is in sole possession of sixth place at 2 under.
Most players who began the day over par lost ground, but Mansfield's Zach Rezentes and McKinney's Collin Stoops managed to go against the grain with 70s, leaving both golfers at 4 over for the tournament. Stoops won the Texas Amateur in 1993.
Thermometers near the 18th green indicated temperatures as high as 111. Fort Worth's John Peterson, last year's runner-up, became the eighth golfer to withdraw from the tournament.
"You've just got to keep [the heat] in the right mindset and not let it get to you," Shindler said. "Late in the round, you can get kind of careless, where you're not drinking enough water and staying in the shade."
Texas A&M's Jordan Russell and The Woodlands' Ryan Kelley, who will play for the Aggies, are tied for 14th at 3 over. LSU's Bryant Lach, from The Woodlands, had a 78 and is 13 over.
