LONDON, ONT — Making five birdies and an eagle on Saturday at Highland Country Club, Patrick Fishburn posted a third-round 64 to take a two-stroke lead over Jeremy Paul into the final round of the Canada Life Championship, the final event on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule.  

Fishburn, who began the week with a 66, has improved his score by one shot each day and looks to pick up his first Mackenzie Tour victory Sunday, which would move him into the top 10 on the Order of Merit and secure Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2020 season.

“[The Order of Merit] is definitely in my head,” said the 27-year old. “I know I’m about $300 shy of the 10th spot, which is so important, but there’s not much I can do but take it one shot at a time and go from there.”

Opening his day with an eagle on the first hole, Fishburn cruised through the rest of the front nine before making five birdies on his final 10 holes to sign for his best career Mackenzie Tour score.

“I’ll keep sticking to what I’ve been doing,” said Fishburn. “I’ve been hitting it consistent tee to green and getting a lot of chances from eight to 12 feet, so I’ll keep doing that and will have a good shot tomorrow.”

This isn’t Fishburn’s first solid performance at the Canada Life Championship. The Brigham Young University alum proved himself in 2018 when he posted four-consecutive sub-70 scores to tie for ninth.

“I love it here a lot,” said Fishburn. “It’s almost identical to the course I play back home, the Ogden Country Club, with lots of doglegs, which allows me to work the ball both directions, which I like to do.”

In two seasons on the Mackenzie Tour, Fishburn had made each of his 17 cuts before last week at the Mackenzie Investments Open, when a 74-70 start sent him and his wife, Madison, touring the Montreal streets.

“Maybe that was a good thing,” said Fishburn. “It gave me a couple days off to relax and regroup with my wife.”

Fishburn heads into the final round in a pairing alongside Paul, who Fishburn played a practice round with before the event.

Meanwhile, Canadian Taylor Pendrith struggled down the stretch Saturday, making four bogeys in his final five holes to move back into a tie for eighth.

As it currently stands, Paul Barjon, currently in 28th place, is projected to win the Player of the Year award by a little more than $1,000.