Caleb Surratt and James Leow are tied for the lead at 12-under 201 while Sam Choi is one back after firing a 6-under 64 to move to 11-under.
Second-round leader William Paysse, who opened the tournament with a pair of 67s to start the day at 8-under, slipped into a tie for 12th following a third-round 74.
Surratt, who leads the Elite Amateur Series points standings after collecting top-five finishes at the Sunnehanna (t-4), Northeast (3) and Southern Amateurs (4), had nine birdies and two bogeys for a third-round score of 64 (-7), which tied the men's competitive course record at Columbia Edgewater.
“It was a good day out there,” said Surratt, “I had some fun, put my head down and just focused on what I could control.
“I had to overcome some adversity out there, which helped me stay focused. I missed a one-foot putt and I had a three-putt, and they honestly helped me not lose track of what I was trying to do.”
The Tennessee-bound Surratt is 13-under over his last two rounds after opening with a 1-over 72 on Tuesday.
Leow and Choi nearly kept pace with Surratt on Thursday, turning in matching 65s to reach double figures under par. Leow, who recently completed his senior year at Arizona State, made eight birdies on the day while Choi, who plays collegiately at New Mexico, enjoyed a bogey-free round with six birides.
“I hit a lot of good approach shots and I made a lot of putts today, which is crucial out here,” said Leow.
Leow has been dealing with a strained neck this week, but it hasn’t seemed to slow him down.
“The course isn’t playing very long, and I’m not hitting it very long right now because I strained my neck, so I’m just hitting three-quarter swings and trying to find fairways to give myself anything inside 150 yards.” Choi is no stranger to success at this event. Just last year, he was part of a five-man playoff won by Devon Bling at Chambers Bay and in 2019, Choi tied for fourth.
“Playing the Pac Coast is like one of my favorite events to play in,” said Choi, “I always play good and have good energy going into this tournament, so we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”
Final round play gets underway tomorrow (Friday) morning at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. local time, going of the Nos. 1 and 10 tees.
The Pacific Coast Amateur contributed to this report.