Southport, NC – Peter Malnati of Dandridge, TN opened his week at the eGolf Tour’s third-annual Championship at St. James Plantation in stellar fashion, posting a course-record 63 on Wednesday morning to grab sole possession of the day one lead. A 76 on day two dropped him out of the event’s 36-hole lead, but a bounce-back 2-under 70 today on the difficult Reserve Club course at St. James has him clinging to a one-shot lead at 7-under par heading into Saturday’s fourth and final round.

The Championship at St. James Plantation is the sixth of 24 scheduled events on the 2012 eGolf Tour schedule, and is being contested this week at both the Reserve Club and Founders Club courses at St. James Plantation in Southport, NC.

Entering Friday’s third round, the tournament leader was eGolf Tour rookie T.J. Howe of Osceola, PA. Howe, a former Penn State golfer, posted rounds of 66-69—135 over the first two days to take a one-shot lead into Friday’s round.

Friday’s round, however, would be a tough one for T.J. Howe.

Three bogeys and three birdies over his first eight holes kept Howe at even par on the day, where he remained through 12 holes until a round-crushing double-bogey at the arduous par-3 13th dropped him to 2-over. At the par-5 17th, a bogey dropped Howe down to 3-over on the day and 6-under for the event. The late stumbles opened the door for Malnati, who walked right through into the event’s Friday night lead.

Malnati’s day began in consistent fashion, with a birdie at the par-3 second, six consecutive pars, and birdies at Nos. 9 and 10 to move to 3-under for the round and 8-under overall.

“This is such a hard golf course, even with wind down, it’s brutal,” said Malnati, 24. “I played nicely for most of the day, but I knew that scoring wasn’t going to be easy. For the first 10 holes, I hit every shot inside 20 feet. Then No. 11 happened.”

The short par-4 11th at the Reserve Club at St. James features a sunken bowl-shaped green that allows players to feed their wedge shot approaches towards the pin.

From 108 yards, Peter Malnati missed the bowl entirely.

The costly error led to a bogey on a hole where par is at times unacceptable. Malnati, however, bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 11th to regain his momentum with seven holes to play.

On the difficult par-3 16th, the former University of Missouri standout pulled a 6-iron into a tough front-right hole location, in turn leading to another back-nine bogey. Pars on the final two holes, amidst an increasing Southport wind, gave him a third-round 70. His 7-under 209 total allowed Malnati to leap frog over Howe and into the event’s 54-hole lead.

“I played well today. The wind was still a factor there down the stretch, but I was able to keep it in play for the most part,” he said.

Malnati, who won a local mini-tour event in Charlotte just two weeks ago, said the 2011 Nebraska Open was his last major win on any level. He trailed by two with 18 holes to play at that event, but acknowledged that being in the lead was ideal going into Saturday’s final round at St. James.

“I’m going to try and stay as even keel as possible, but I’m excited for tomorrow,” said Malnati, who last played in the final pairing of an eGolf Tour event at the Grand Harbor Open last August. “I’d much rather be in the lead than one behind, so we’ll see what happens.”

Tied for second, one shot behind Malnati at 6-under 210 are Howe, Jordan Holley of Boca Raton, FL and local favorite Josh Brock of Wilmington, NC.

Holley, making his first start on the eGolf Tour since this same event roughly two years ago to the day, tied the day’s low round with a 5-under 67 that featured bogeys on two of his last six holes.

Birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 for Holley gave way to a four-hole stretch of pars, but from there, the former Lynn University standout caught fire with birdies at Nos. 7, 9, 10 and 11 to move to 6-under for the day with seven holes to play.

A bogey at the par-3 13th was offset by a birdie at the par-4 15th, but an untimely bogey at the reachable par-5 17th left Holley at 5-under for the day and 6-under overall, where he finished after a par at 18.

Holley’s entry this week was paid courtesy of a sponsor looking to help the young pro out, but other than that, Holley says he is down to his last few dollars.

“Honestly, I have $300 in my bank account, and that’s it,” he said after his round. “I rep a golf company in Florida on the side, I pick up some hours at a local restaurant – I was in a Maxfli commercial for Dick’s Sporting Goods. At this point, I have to do anything to try and get by.”

On any other week, Holley would be the crowd favorite given his financial situation and go-for-broke attitude. At St. James, the locals will be pulling for one of their own – Josh Brock.

Brock not only hails from the Port City, but also starred for four years on the UNC Wilmington golf team. The former Seahawk standout will be eyeing his first career eGolf Tour win on Saturday, after making just his second cut of the 2012 season.

Entering the day, Brock was sitting on rounds of 71-71—142 that had him tied for 12th, but seven shots behind Howe.

Needing some help from the overnight leader, and some help from his golf game, Brock received both in the form of Howe’s 75 and his own bogey-free 68 to finish at 6-under 210.

The only bogey-free round of the day at St. James was carded courtesy of birdies at Nos. 1 and 4 for an outward nine of 2-under 34. On the demanding back nine of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Reserve Club course, Brock birdied Nos. 10 and 14 to get to 4-under for the round, where he eventually finished for his 68.

The 68 was Brock’s third round posted in the 60s out of 15 thus far on the 2012 season – a sophomore campaign in which he has made just one cut in five prior starts entering the week (T67, Irish Creek Classic).

In 2011, Brock showed great promise with three top-15 finishes in just eight starts after finishing his college golf career in May.

While he’s not likely to create the raucous cheers that former UNCW basketball star Brett Blizzard did during the school’s 2002 NCAA Tournament run, Brock will no doubt have the support of the locals.

That support may just lead him to his first tour win.

Final-round play in The Championship at St. James Plantation will begin at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning at the Reserve Club, with players competing in threesomes off of Nos. 1 and 10 tees. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.