Denver, NC – Prior to Friday's third round of the Cowans Ford Open, Clint Jensen had never reached 20-under through three rounds of a professional tournament. While the mark is certainly impressive, it resulted in a mere three-shot cushion over Roberto Castro and Josh Persons with just 18 holes to play. If he is to win, birdies will have to be the norm in a final round that should provide plenty of drama.

At the start of the day, Jensen held a two-shot advantage over playing partners Josh Persons (Fargo, ND) and Scott Weatherly (Fort Payne, AL). With a lush Cowans Ford Country Club layout primed for the taking, the former University of Tulsa star wasted no time in posting red numbers.

Birdies at Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 vaulted Jensen to 18-under for the tournament and in cruise control mode, where a round reminiscent of his first-round 63 (at co-host NorthStone Country Club) could be on the horizon. But just when thoughts of check presentations and winner's speeches would have been understandable, Jensen's best friend left him – his putter.

"I was playing good, I was hitting a lot of good shots, and all of a sudden I stopped making putts in the middle of my round," Jensen said, citing a string of seven consecutive pars from Nos. 7-13.

After his birdie at the par-4 sixth, Jensen watched at Persons rolled in a birdie at the par-3 seventh to keep pace, and his ensuing birdie try came off as timid and uncertain.

"I didn't hit a good putt on No. 7, and from there I wasn't quite as comfortable on the next few holes," said Jensen.

A streak of pars is the stuff heroes are made of at Oakmont and Winged Foot. At Cowans Ford this week, a streak of pars is the stuff that leads to soul searching and a new putter from the pro shop. Thankfully for Jensen, his seven-hole stretch came to a much-needed halt on the par-4 14th, where a birdie finally put him back on track and at 5-under for the day.

Josh PersonsA closing birdie at the par-5 18th gave him a third-round 66, and Jensen's 54-hole total of 20-under 196 put him three shots clear of Persons and six-time eGolf Tour winner Roberto Castro with 18 holes to play.

Jensen is the first to admit that he is playing some of his best golf this week, but is also willing to concede that the soft greens at Cowans Ford and the docile conditions are moving par from 72 to 69.

"My round at NorthStone is probably one of the best rounds I've ever played, but the course here at Cowans Ford is set up to be scored on," said Jensen, who lives in Jupiter, FL. "It's a mix of the two – I'm playing good, but it's on a course where it's easier to post a low round."

Persons, a former University of Minnesota standout, had a similar round to Jensen in that he quickly got to 4-under through seven holes before giving way to an untimely par stretch mid-round. A closing birdie at the 18th would give the soft-spoken Midwesterner a third-round 67 and a seat in Saturday's final pairing alongside Jensen and Castro.

Castro began his round with an eagle at the reachable par-5 first, and would add three more birdies on his outward nine to turn at 5-under 31. Bogeys at 11 and 12 would somewhat cool his otherwise electric round, but closing birdies at 13, 15 and 17 would put him back into a tie for second with a round of 66 on Friday.

A former Georgia Tech star, Castro is one of the tour's best all-time players with six titles – good for second on the career wins list. With two wins in 2009 and a win already in 2010, Castro is the type of competitor who seems to be in the hunt every week. Two of those three aforementioned titles came in come-from-behind fashion, so trailing by three with 18 holes to play should be right in the proverbial wheelhouse for him.

Roberto CastroBrazil's Fernando Mechereffe and Kenny Coakley of Bluffton, SC are tied for fourth at 16-under 200, trailing Jensen by four shots.

Mechereffe, who now lives in Charlotte, had one of the day's most dramatic rounds. On the par-3 third, the former N.C. State "All American" recorded the fourth hole-in-one of his career when his 4-iron from 195 yards found the bottom of the cup for a rare ace on an otherwise difficult par-3.

Mechereffe would go birdie-birdie-bogey-bogey on Nos. 5-8 before adding another birdie at the par-4 12th to get to 3-under on his round. Birdies on the last four holes of the day would net him a 7-under 65 and push him into contention to claim his first career title on the eGolf Tour.

For Jensen, Saturday's final round presents an opportunity to not only collect his second eGolf Tour victory, but to see just how much he can push himself to keep making birdies.

"You have to keep going," said Jensen. "I'd like to get to 24- or 25-under, but you really never know what someone else is going to shoot."

Ironically, prior to his win at the Savannah Quarters Classic in February, Castro said his goal when he's in the lead or even trailing is to always shoot the lowest score of the day, and that if he does that he should be okay.

When asked if that theory applies to him for tomorrow's round, Jensen thought for a second and quickly came to the logical conclusion that, numerically, that would be great.

"If I shoot the lowest round tomorrow, I should be fine," Jensen joked. "Yeah, that's a good way to look at it."

The final round of the Cowans Ford Open will begin at 8:00 AM off of Nos. 1 and 10 tees on Saturday morning. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.