Rodney Butcher came within a shot of setting a club record and opened a four shot lead in the third round of the Bay Mills Open.
The Bay Mills Open Players' Championship being held in Brimley, Michigan, features the Canadian Tour's top purse of $235,000. The winner for the Tour's final tournament of the season will receive a payout of $37,600.
Butcher shot a 5-under 67, one shot off the Wild Bluff Golf Club record, to sit at 8-under par after the third round of play on Saturday. Butcher started the day in a three-way tie for first place at 3-under.
Canadian Doug McGuigan sits in second place at 4-under par while Mario Tiziani, the winner of the Northern Ontario Open held in Sault Ste. Marie in June and the Bay Mills runner-up last season, along with Jon Mills and Chris Wall are tied for third at 3 -under par.
Today's final round will begin at 7 a.m. in order to accommodate The Golf Channel's live coverage of the event which can be seen locally on Shaw Cable 54 from noon until 2 p.m.