Southern Am: McManus leads into final round

PALM HARBOR, FL – Tarquin McManus, a University of Arizona senior from Cairns, Australia, holds a one-stroke lead heading into Saturday’s final round of the 105th Southern Amateur at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead course. McManus fired a 5-under-par 66 on Friday to take the lead at 206 thanks to a sterling up-and-down save from out of the rough short of the 18th hole. That total kept him one stroke in front of UCLA All-American Gregor Main and Georgia Tech sophomore Richy Werenski, who said he will be playing in the final group at any significant tournament for the first time in his memory. “And this is definitely a significant event,” McManus said of a venerable Southern Am that has evolved into a national and international major amateur. Main, who overcame a run of three bogeys midway through his opening nine Friday, will be gunning for his second Southern Am title, having won this event two years ago in Memphis. A perk awaiting the winner is an exempt spot in the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando next March.