If Vaita Guillaume continues to improve on Sunday as he has all week, the Niagara Championship on the Mackenzie Tour PGA Tour Canada is his. From 70 to 68 to 66 on Saturday, the man from the golfing hotbed of French Polynesia has deciphered the Cherry Hill Club’s Walter Travis 18 a bit better each day. In the third round, he paired six birdies with a single bogey (the par-three 5th hole) to edge into a tie with 2nd-round leader David Pastore at minus-nine. Pastore did little more than make pars on day three: two bogeys and two birdies were all the excitement that he generated.

First-round leader Paul McConnell remained in the hunt at -7, just 2 off the lead. For the third straight day, someone went super low and threatened McConnell’s day-one course record. On Saturday it  was Trevor Cone, whose 64 elevated him 37 spots, into a tie for 3rd. Cone posted 6 birdies and an eagle, against one bogey, for his 7-under scorecard. Lurking as always is Dan McCarthy, #1 on the money list and owner of 4 victories this year. The massive talent of McCarthy is matched only by his size and driver length. Look for him to make a run on Sunday.

Despite those fireworks, the slippery putting surfaces at Cherry Hill once again proved to be the match for any golfer. Simply put, few tour courses offer the uniquely-contoured putting surfaces favored by the course architect, Walter J. Travis. If you’re interested in a show, plant your chair at the 18th green around 12 noon, sit back and watch. Around and around they’ll go, and where the ball will stop, who knows?

If Mother Nature holds true to form, tonight will bring massive thunderstorms and a general soaking of the golfing grounds. By day break, however, the clouds will move on and the rains will abate. There might even be a few hours of sunshine in the early afternoon. As mentioned above, three different golfers have gone uber-low over the course of the first three days. If any one of them could repeat that feat, he might find himself raising the victor’s trophy. As things stand on Saturday night, the tournament is wide open, so look for an old-fashioned shoot-out at the Cherry Hill corral on Sunday.

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(All photos and tweets courtesy of Mackenzie Tour PGA Tour Canada.)