Former University of Central Florida player Connor Arendell birdied his last four holes at the Cypress Lake Golf Club in his home town of Fort Myers on Saturday for a 62 and a four-shot lead entering the final round of the 77th Florida Open.
Arendell, 33, whose professional career has peaked with two turns on the Korn Ferry Tour, kick-started his bogey-free round with four birdies in a row from Nos. 4-7, then closed fast to finish at 14-under-par 128. Arendell won the Florida Open in 2021 at the Fiddlesticks Country Club.
Florida Open live scoring
Florida Open third-round groups, starting times
Brandon Collins of St. Petersburg, a former University of South Florida player, shot 65 at Cypress Lake and is second at 10-under.
Baldwin High graduate Dillon Board, who held the first-round lead after a 64 at the Crown Colony Club, shot 70 at Cypress Lake and fell into a three-way tie for third at 8-under with former University of North Florida player Kevin Aylwin (68, Cypress Lake) and amateur John Houchin of Merritt Island (67, Cypress Lake), who is a junior at Stetson.
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Two other former UNF players are on the fringes of contention. Matthew Borchert, who is now the head pro at Isleworth in Orlando (68, Crown Colony), is tied for sixth at 7-under and Pete Kellermann of Jacksonville (68, Crown Colony), who is tied for second in the 2022 Florida Open at the Bradenton Country Club, is tied for 14th at 3-under.
The tournament will move to Crown Colony for Sunday’s final round. Other area players making the cut were former Jacksonville University player Michael Sakane (even) in a tie for 32nd, Bryson Hughes of St. Johns (1-over) in a tie for 41st) and Derek Bard of Jacksonville Beach (2-over) in a tie for 53rd.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Connor Arendell leads Florida Open, Baldwin’s Dillon Board six back