BROUSSARD, La. -- Gavin Coles birdied the final two holes on Saturday to pass Chris Riley and take over the top spot on the leaderboard through three rounds of the Nationwide Tour's Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries.
Riley (70) entered the day with a three-stroke cushion -- equaling the largest in tournament history in Lafayette -- and appeared poised to hold that lead until Coles (66) birdied the final two holes to move into solo possession of the lead at 11-under-par 202. Riley will enter the final 18 holes one shot back, while B.J. Staten -- who fashioned the round of the day with an 8-under 63 -- will be two strokes behind.
"I played really nicely today apart from two holes," said Coles, speaking of his only bogeys at the ninth and 13th holes. "The great scores this morning set the precedent for what I had to do this afternoon."
Coles, a 39-year-old Australian, is no stranger to the top spot on the leaderboard in Nationwide Tour events, having won three times and most recently at the 2006 Legend Financial Group Classic. Sunday will mark just the second time he has held the lead going into the final round. The first led to a victory at the 2002 Jacob's Creek Open Championship.
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