Blythewood, SC – Over the past seven months, Ryan Sullivan of Winston-Salem, NC has won on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, secured his Web.com Tour card for the year, and made the cut in a PGA TOUR event. Sullivan, however, has yet to earn his first win on the eGolf Tour. That wait may be over soon, as the former UNC Wilmington star posted a third-round 68 at the tour’s Columbia Open on Friday to reach 13-under par through 54 holes, good for a two-shot lead heading into Saturday’s fourth and final round.

Sullivan’s week at host Columbia Country Club began with a share of the 18-hole lead, thanks to a 6-under 65 on Wednesday that put him in a tie atop the board alongside Brandon Smith of West Palm Beach, FL.

On Thursday, the former Seahawk standout posted a 4-under 67 to grab the outright lead at 10-under 132, one shot clear of Travis Ross of Crookston, MN heading into Friday’s third round at the Ellis Maples-designed venue.

Sullivan’s third round was solid, beginning with early birdies at Nos. 1 and 4 that led to a 2-under 33 on his outward nine. The 24-year-old bogeyed the par-4 11th to fall back to 1-under on the day, then rallied with birdies on 12, 13 and 15 to ascend to 14-under par for the week – four shots clear of the field at the time.

His attempt to run away and hide from the field slowed somewhat at the par-4 18th after his tee shot caught the lip of a fairway bunker, forcing him to pitch out sideways before settling for a bogey when his 7-foot par try missed the hole.

“Today was really steady, kind of like the past couple of days. I got off to a good start again, and was able to get out of trouble when I hit a few bad drives,” Sullivan said. “I’m pretty comfortable with the state of my game right now.”

Sunny Kim

The rough finish aside, Sullivan’s third-round 68 put him at 13-under for the tournament, two shots clear of Sunny Kim of Palm Beach Gardens, FL heading into the final round.

“It’s not an easy tee shot there at 18 – you can make a big number pretty quick if you hit a bad one,” he said of his bogey at 18. “It’s disappointing obviously, but it’s not going to define my round. I made a smart course management move, so I wouldn’t change how I play the hole.”

Thirteen months ago, a confident Sullivan took the 54-hole lead at the tour’s Championship at St. James. At the ripe age of 23, he exuded a bravado that gave way to the theory that maybe he was ready to break through for career win No. 1. In the final round at the host Reserve Club, he played an eight-hole stretch of golf in 5-over par, eventually falling out of contention and into a tie for third, three shots back of winner Bryce Ledford.

That was Ryan Sullivan then; a far cry from Ryan Sullivan now.

“I was hitting it well at St. James last year, but I didn’t quite keep my foot on the gas in the final round,” he said. “This week, I’ve been able to keep my foot on the gas throughout, so I like my chances.”

Sullivan’s 2013 campaign on the eGolf Tour was solid, with four top-10s, including an additional T3 at the Willow Creek Open in May. In October, he ventured to Puerto Rico to compete in PGA TOUR Latinoamerica’s Puerto Rico Classic, overcoming a first-round 74 to claim the event’s $27,000 first-place prize – thanks to a closing 65 that pushed him past a host of contenders, including former World No. 1 David Duval.

From there, Sullivan remained on the Latinoamerica circuit, making five more starts en route to a 12th-place finish on the season-ending money list. That late-season push continued into Q-School finals, where he earned status on the Web.com Tour for the 2014 season.

The biggest perk from the Puerto Rico win, however, was a spot in the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open, where he made the cut with rounds of 69-70-68-74—281, finishing tied for 43rd.

“Playing in my first TOUR event gave me a lot of confidence, making the cut and getting in the mix. That told me that I can compete with the best players in the world,” he said.

That newfound confidence – based on results – has brought Sullivan to Columbia, where he looks poised and comfortable atop the leaderboard, having spent the whole week with at least a share of the lead by each day’s end.

Through it all, Sullivan still craves a win on the eGolf Tour – what he calls the “foundation” of his professional career.

“It’s funny, on the Web.com Tour, people say I look like Fernando Mechereffe, so maybe a win tomorrow would be one for both us,” joked Sullivan of Mechereffe, arguably the eGolf Tour’s all-time best player without a victory. “Just last week, Tom Gillis was talking to me for 10 minutes thinking I was Justin Thomas before realizing I wasn’t. It has been hard getting my name out there – nobody knows who I am. Maybe a win tomorrow would help put an end to that.”

vSunny Kim’s third round at Columbia began in somewhat benign fashion, with a birdie on No. 1, a bogey on No. 3, and seven pars leading to an even-par 35 on his outward nine. From there, the 25-year-old caught fire, birdieing 10 and 12 to move to 2-under for the day, then lighting the back nine ablaze with an eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie finish on 15 through 18 to close in 6-under 30. All told, the native South Korean put forth a third-round 65 that was the day’s best round, and pushed him up into solo-second place at 11-under 202.

Kim has two top-5 finishes in 16 prior starts on the eGolf Tour, including a solo-fourth-place effort at the River Hills Classic last August.

Seamus Power

eGolf Tour leading money winner Seamus Power of Waterford, Ireland is in solo-third place with rounds of 69-67-67—203 (10-under).

Power, who earned his third career tour title at the Cowans Ford Open in March, pared his first 10 holes on Friday before birdieing 11, 12, 14 and 15 to jump to 4-under par for the day. The former East Tennessee State star bogeyed 16, but bounced back shortly thereafter with a closing birdie at the last to round out his 67.

The 27-year-old opened his 2014 campaign with back-to-back top-5s at the Palmetto Hall Championship and Championship at Callawassie Island, then put on a clinic at Cowans Ford, posting a 10-under par tally on a demanding venue to win by four shots.

Power was the 36- and 54-hole leader at the Championship at St. James Plantation last month, but faltered in the final round, closing with a 76 to finish T6 on the week. The Huntersville, NC resident finished tied for second at last year’s Columbia Open.

Three players are tied for fourth at 8-under par, including 2012 leading money winner and 2007 British Amateur champion Drew Weaver of High Point, NC.

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