HOUSTON, TX (April 29, 2017) - Derek Busby and John Talley, claiming home from St. Martinsville & Ruston, LA, managed and scrambled their games, in very difficult weather conditions, carding a third round 4-under par 67, at the 54-hole point of the 50th Champions Cup Invitational.
The Busby and Talley teams 54-hole total of 199, 14-under-par leads fifty-five other USA and International teams, held on the extremely difficult 7,450-yard, par 71 Cypress Creek Course at Champions Golf Club.
A different third round by the team, who had not posted a bogey in their first 36 holes, featured only six pars, eight birdies and four bogeys for their 35-32 nine hole scores. They made two birdie runs during the round, one of three in a row (#7-#8-#9) and the other four in row (#14, #15, #16, #17) allowing them to take a three-shot lead into the fourth and final round on Sunday.
The second round, which was played in blustery and swirling southeast winds swirling at 30-40 mph throughout the round, created havoc for the field, challenging all teams to rely on their short games and putting to survive the windy conditions.
Houston team of Bryant Lach and Matt Cordell remained in second place after round three, but lost two strokes to the leaders in shooting a 2-under-par score 34-35 = 69. Lack and Cordell stand three strokes behind the leader with their 54-hole total of 202, eleven-under par. Lach and Cordell, both members of the host Champions Golf Club, recorded five birdies and three bogeys. Their birdies came in bunches with back-to-back birdies on par three eighth hole and the par five ninth hole, and three birdies in a row on the back nine on the par five 13th , the par four 14th and 15th holes.
In third place at 204, 9-under-par, is the former champion team of Houstonian Kyle Maxwell and from Illinois, Derek Meinhart.
A logjam persists at fourth place 8-under-par 205, with three teams sharing the spot. Ben Klaus (Oklahoma City, OK) - Riley Pumphrey (Austin, TX), Kevin Herman (Powell, Tennessee) - Craig Junio (Las Vegas, NV ) and John Ehrgott (Edwards, IL) - Tim Sheppard (East Peoria, IL) are all tied and are sitting six strokes out of the lead going into the fourth and final round on Sunday.
Editors Note: Story via George Adams of Champions Golf Club
Busby-Talley maintain Champions Cup Invitational Lead
Derek Busby and John Talley remained in the lead despite tough third round conditions at the Cypress Creek Course at Champions Golf Club
