Norris leads by a stroke at NSW Open

Jason Norris fired a blistering third round 64 to give himself a strong chance of
winning his second NSW Open golf title in three years.
The 37-year-old Adelaide-based Victorian, who won the title at the same venue in
2007, charged into the lead at eight under par on The Vintage course in the Hunter
Valley.
Norris made four birdies on the front nine and birdied three straight holes from the
13th onward, with just a single bogey blemish on the short 12th.
He moved one shot clear of overnight leader James Nitties (73), who fell back to
seven under.
After firing 13 birdies through the first two days, Nitties managed just one on
Saturday.
Norris, who suffered facial injuries in a bike crash at Coolum shortly after his
2007 NSW Open title triumph, notched a couple of top 10 finishes in New Zealand
earlier this year.
"I've been playing great but I haven't holed any putts and I've pitching it poor,"
Norris told AAP.
"But I've doing a bit of work on my short game this week and obviously with the win
here a couple of years ago I feel comfortable being on the course.
"I played really well on the front nine, I started with a good putt on the first, a
birdie from about 15 feet and then just played really solid from there.
"I'm in a good position now. I said to my caddy this morning it would be nice to
have a few under today and have a chance to win, so we are right up there.
"It will be good fun tomorrow."
The 2007 Australian amateur champion, Rohan Blizard (67) moved to within three shots
of the lead.
Blizard was five-under for the day after 13 holes, but bogeyed the 14th and 16th,
before birdying the par three 17th.
Defending champion Aaron Townsend (68) kept alive his hopes of becoming the first
player since the legendary Norman Von Nida 55 years ago to win back-to-back NSW Open
titles.
Townsend picked up four birdies on the back nine.
Tournament host Nathan Green (71) retained an outside chance after a birdie on the
last hole left him six shots off the lead.
Also on two-under par after three rounds was Nicholas Cullen (65) the twin brother
of Australian cricket representative Dan Cullen.
One of several early starters to benefit from the calmer morning conditions, Cullen
racked up five birdies in a row from the 13th hole.
Scoring became more difficult during the afternoon as the wind increased.