EAST PROVIDENCE — Caleb Surratt increased his lead heading into the fourth and final round of the 2023 Northeast Amateur Invitational as the North Carolina native recorded his best 18 hole score of the tournament to date Friday, June 23, at Wannamoisett Country Club in the Rumford.

Surratt, the reigning Elite Amateur Series Cup winner just off his freshman year at the University of Tennessee, shot a 5-under par 64 in the third round, increasing his advantage after 54 holes to three at 12-under total.

Surratt shot 65 in Round 1 on Wednesday, then backed that up with a 66 Thursday to vault into the lead at 7-under and a one-stroke edge heading into the third round.

Teeing off in the final group just before 2 o'clock Friday afternoon, he got his round going with a birdie from about four feet at Wannamoisett's signature par 3, the shortest hole on the revered Ross layout that was playing just 107 yards to the front right pin location.

He ended up going out in 2-under 34, sandwiching birdies on the par 4 fifth and seventh holes around a birdie on the always-difficult par 4, 437-yard sixth.

Coming home, Surratt birdied the par 4 11th and made eagle on what has become the very gettable, by modern standards, par 5 17th running along Pawtucket Avenue. He used a hybrid to reach the back left flag in two, then sank the 20-footer for the eagle.

"It was a really, really good last second decision," Surratt said of his switch to hybrid after originally pulling his 3-wood. "I was set up over the ball with 3-wood and I just thought if I hit that same draw I hit like I did on a previous hole earlier in the round it's going to carry on the green. So I did that. If I had the same shot with 3-wood it would have went out of bounds...It was a good decision. I would never re-hit that shot."

Surratt leads a pair by three strokes heading in Saturday morning's finale. Luke Clanton and Nicholas Dunlap each sit at 9-under after the former shot 66 Friday and the latter shooting the lowest 18 of the round with a 6-under 63.

Dunlap also made eagle on what has become the drivable par 4, 14th, the dog leg right around the retention pond on the back side. He added five birdies and made a bogey at the seventh. 

"It's just another day of golf," Surratt, who spoke to the media with Dunlap after Friday's play, said of his mindset heading into the final round. "Me and him wake up every single morning and go play golf, so there's really nothing different about tomorrow. We've both won before. It's cool to think of all the repercussions if you win, but you can't control it. If I go out there and shoot 62 and he shoots 58, he wins."

Likely still with a chance to claim the 62nd edition of the Northeast are Brian Stark and Davis Bryant, who sit six back at 6-under. Cole Sherwood enters the final round in sixth alone at 5-under,

Five players share seventh at 3-under. Four more are tied for 11th at 2-under, including the two-time reigning NEAm champ Dylan Menante. The Nevada native shot 68 Friday, following up his 66 in Round 2. His 1-over 70 to open the event will ultimately be what prevented him from truly vying to become the first player ever to complete a historic three-peat of the event.

The 54-hole cut to the low 60 players and ties fell at 7-over par. Wannamoisett's own and the former State Amateur champ Bobby Leopold was the lone player with local ties to make it to the final day, doing so on the number.