Okatie, SC – Chris Naegel of Chesterfield, MO survived wind gusts of up to 30 mph during Friday’s third round of the eGolf Tour’s Oldfield Open to card a 3-under 69 and move into sole possession of first place at 9-under 205 heading into Saturday’s final round of the 72-hole event.

The Oldfield Open is the second of 24 scheduled events on the 2012 eGolf Tour schedule, and is being contested this week at both Oldfield Country Club and Chechessee Creek Club in Okatie, SC.

Naegel, a former Missouri Baptist University golfer, began his third round at host Oldfield Country Club in a three-way tie for the tournament’s 36-hole lead with Ryan Nelson of Houston, TX and Joey McLister of Charlotte, NC. At 6-under for the week, it quickly became apparent that Mother Nature might have a say in just how low Naegel – or anyone – could go during the third round.

Approaching storms throughout the Southeast sent cautionary winds sweeping through the South Carolina Lowcountry, and forced the already-difficult Greg Norman-designed Oldfield course to play that much tougher. A steady breeze of 20 mph was exacerbated at times by gusts of up to 30 mph, and a game of survival presented itself for the 63 players who made the tournament’s 36-hole cut.

Naegel, a self-proclaimed trapper of the ball and solid wind player, pared his first three holes before breaking the seal on his round with a birdie at the par-5 fourth. Follow-up birdies at Nos. 8, 11 and 12 moved the 29-year-old up to 10-under for the week and in sole possession of the tournament lead.

“It was tough out there, especially early on,” said Naegel. “You had to really be aware of the wind direction and when the next gust would pop up. It made for a pretty tough day.”

With darkening skies reminiscent of a “Wizard of Oz” spoof, the wind actually tempered a bit over Naegel’s back nine, but he wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity.

“After the birdie at 12, I made a couple of pars and then bogeyed 15 to drop back to 9-under,” said Naegel. “Over the last three holes, I just kind of hung on with pars to get to the house. It’s one of those days, weather-wise, that you’re glad to get through.”

Naegel’s Friday 69 placed him at 9-under 205 and left him with a one-shot lead heading into Saturday’s final round. When asked of the last time he won a tournament or sat on a lead, Naegel was forced to think and quickly reminisce through four years of professional golf.

The answer? College. Not since his days at Missouri Baptist has Naegel sat on a lead, so tomorrow’s final round should provide quite the test.

“I think if I can just keep doing what I’ve been doing, I should be okay,” he said. “There are a lot of guys up there on the leaderboard, so hopefully I can just worry about my game and keep it at that.”

Will Collins

Trailing Naegel by one shot are eGolf Tour rookie Will Collins of Salisbury, NC and Brazil’s Fernando Mechereffe. Both players are at 8-under 206, and will be paired alongside Naegel in Saturday’s final threesome.

Collins, a former University of Virginia standout, has quickly made an impression through just two starts on the year. At last week’s Palmetto Hall event, Collins recorded a video-game-like 10 birdies during a final-round 65 that moved the newcomer from T53 to T14 in his pro debut. His stellar play from Hilton Head Island carried over into this week’s event, especially into Friday’s round.

After opening with rounds of 72-67, Collins moved quickly up the leaderboard during the third round with five birdies in his first eight holes to move to 8-under and within one shot of the tournament lead. A bogey at the narrow par-4 ninth slowed his momentum, but the former “Wahoo” bounced back two holes later with a birdie at the par-5 11th to move back to 5-under for the day.

With a howling wind swirling over his final seven holes, Collins could only muster pars to close out his round – a 5-under 67.

Fernando Mechereffe

Mechereffe, a Brazil native who has lived in Charlotte, NC for a number of years, is without doubt the best player yet to win on the eGolf Tour, and is at the same time one of the tour’s longest tenured members. A conditional member of the 2012 Nationwide Tour, Mechereffe is looking to add an eGolf Tour title to his resume before the PGA TOUR’s minor league circuit returns to the United States.

On Friday, the former N.C. State “All American” birdied three of his first eight holes en route to a front-nine 33 and an 8-under tally on the week. Much like Collins, Mechereffe’s early move was stalled by the increased winds on Oldfield’s closing nine, which left him with bogeys at 10 and 14 to offset birdies at 11 and 12. Pars over his last four holes gave Mechereffe a third-round 69 and an 8-under 206 total through 54 holes.

At Palmetto Hall, Mechereffe placed himself in a tie for eighth through 36 holes with rounds of 69-69. Over the closing two rounds, however, he posted 73-74 to fall down into a tie for 19th for the week.

While still looking for his first tour title, Mechereffe is coming off of a career year on tour, having posted eight top-10 finishes in just 15 starts, and collecting $76,977 in earnings to finish fifth on the season-ending money list.

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