Leaderboard Stays Crowded At Tour Championship

Kane Hanson is turning the Canadian Tour Championship into a Cinderella story of sorts, while Order of Merit Aaron Goldberg will try to end the dream on Sunday in St. Catharines, Ont.

Hanson, who shot a 70 in the third round, and Goldberg (66) will make up the final pairing Sunday as they share the lead at 10-under heading into the final round of the $325,000 Tour Championship at St. Catharines Golf and Country Club.

Andres Gonzales, the 2009 Saskatchewan Open champion, made a push with a 63 to vault into third spot, one shot behind the leaders. Devin Carrey of South Surrey, BC (71) is at eight under.

It was a much different story for Kris Wasylowich of Lethbridge, Alb. Starting the day just two shots behind Hanson, Wasylowich stumbled to a 79.

As he arrived in St. Catharines, Hanson knew he had to come up with a strong effort if he wanted to keep his tour card. Having not made a cheque since April, Hanson was facing the very real possibility of losing his playing status for next year.

“It’s been weighing on my mind for the past month and a half,” he admitted. “This was a big week for me. I just wanted to make sure I had a place to play next season.”

It’s looking like that won’t be a problem. Instead of just holding on to status, Hanson has his eyes on the $52,000 winner’s share of the tour record $325,000 pot.

Goldberg, on the other hand, is looking to put an exclamation point on an outstanding sophomore season. The 25-year-old has made the cut in all seven of his starts, with a pair of wins, a runner-up and three other top nine finishes.

A win or solo runner-up finish Sunday will give Goldberg the all-time Canadian Tour record for earnings in one season, eclipsing the $129,158 racked up by Trevor Dodds in 1996. Goldberg has this week and November’s inaugural Desert Dunes Classic in California to earn just under $30,000.

“It’s a little easier having that confidence and feeling you can win every time you step up to the tee,” said Goldberg.

“This is the biggest event of our year, so getting it done here would just be the icing on the cake. I really want to win that Order of Merit. It just shows you’ve had a very consistent year. I’ll try to go out and get it done Sunday,” he added.

Even with a California event officially closing out the 2010 season later this year, his performance this week essentially salts away the Order of Merit title for Goldberg. Should he hold on for a triumph tomorrow, it will be his third victory in four events.

Hanson led by two late Saturday before a bogey on the par five 16^th, where he missed a tricky three-foot slider. An unimpressive 2010 season thus far doesn’t really tell the whole story for Hanson, who has won several tournaments at both the amateur and professional levels.

At the Jane Rogers Championship two weeks ago, he put up a quadruple bogey eight on the 15th hole in the second round to miss the cut by one, illustrating that Hanson has just found ways to shoot himself out of contention.

“It almost got to the point where it was comical,” he said, adding that Sunday is shaping up as a memorable day.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Hanson. “Aaron has been beating everyone up pretty good out here, so it should be fun to watch.”

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