Kevin Carrigan has the chance to repeat as the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion after carding a 4-under 67 at Blackhawk Golf Club on Thursday.

Carrigan currently sits at 15-under 198 for the championship after firing his third straight round in the 60’s. His third round was highlighted by a closing nine 4-under 32, after making a five-footer for eagle on the par-5 15th.

“I didn’t have my best day today but I managed to keep it in play and continued to hit good shots,” Carrigan said “I took advantage of the opportunities I did have and again rolled a lot of good putts just over the edge.”

On Thursday, the Victoria, B.C., native held off a valiant charge by Team Canada’s Garrett Rank, who was 8-under-par on the day through sixteen holes after two eagles on the back-nine.

“He makes a lot of birdies, he’s an explosive player,” Carrigan said. “Six birdies and two eagles today that’s unreal and he had a couple of mistakes.”

As the defending champion, Carrigan’s 198 total is a new personal best and leaves him in a good position to pick up back-to-back titles and earn the exemption into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

“It’s a personal feat and I’m very proud of myself for accomplishing that,” Carrigan stated about breaking 200.

“I’ve had enough close calls to know that if I start putting pressure on winning it’ll probably affect the way I play,” he continued. “My objective tomorrow is to play my game and not let the circumstances affect how I play.”

Rank currently sits three strokes behind Carrigan in solo second at 12-under 201, after bogeying his final two holes on Thursday to card a 6-under 65. The Elmira, Ont., native has played his last 36 holes in 13-under par after making four eagles and 12 birdies.

Calgary’s Dustin Yeager and California’s David Bartman sit at 7-under for the championship in a tie for third. Yeager’s third round 69 earned him a spot in the final pairing tomorrow and was one of only five under-par rounds at Blackhawk on Thursday. Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., rounds out the top-five in solo fifth at 5-under 208 after an even-par 71 third round.

In the Mid-Master division (40+) Bartman’s third round 71 leaves him seven strokes clear of Rob Cowan of Waterloo, Ont., and Raymond Oh of Richmond Hill, Ont., heading into Friday’s final round.

Kevin Carrigan continued his solid play at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, carding a 3-under 68 on Wednesday at Blackhawk Golf Club.

The defending champion fired a 4-under 31 to open his second round but stumbled with two late bogeys on over his final three holes to finish at 11-under 131 for the championship.

“I left several out there on the front,” Carrigan said. “I think the only two greens I missed today were No. 16 and No. 18 where I made bogey.”

The Victoria, B.C., native set a new competitive course record yesterday at Blackhawk with a 8-under 63 and currently leads by four strokes over David Bartman of Los Angeles, Calif. Despite not making as many putts as he’d like, Carrigan said he has a ton of confidence in his swing this week.

“I’m not making much and it’s frustrating because every shot I hit is on my line,” he continued. “I’m just not getting the putts to go, I burned probably six or seven edges today but my swing feels great.”

Team Canada’s Garrett Rank carded the round of the day at Blackhawk after a 7-under 64. The Elmira, Ont., native fired a 5-under 30 on the front-nine after an eagle on the par-5 4th hole and added a second after pitching in from 30 yards on the par-4 9th.

“I should have been way lower,” Rank said. “I three-putted No. 18 and missed a short three-footer on five.”

Playing alongside Carrigan, Rank was gunning for the new course record after getting it to 8-under through 14 holes but lost momentum after a bogey on the par-5 15th.

“I was playing so good that on No. 15 I hit it a little left off the tee and instead of laying up and hitting a wedge close like I was all day I tried to hit the green,” he said. “I turned it into a bogey and I shouldn’t be making bogeys on that hole.”

California’s David Bartman carded a 3-under 68 to grab solo second at 7-under 135, while Rank sits in third at 6-under 136. Dave Bunker of Woodbridge, Ont., Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., and Calgary’s Dustin Yeager sit in a tie for fourth at 5-under.

Bartman currently holds a two-stroke lead in the Mid Master (40+) division over Bunker who fired a 6-under 65 on Wednesday.

In the Inter-Provincial team competition, Team Ontario’s Tyler McDannold of Brooklin, Ont., Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., and Darren Shaw of Stoney Creek, Ont., captured the R. Bruce Forbes trophy after a firing a 3-under 139 second round. The squad finished at 3-under 281 for the championship, eight strokes ahead of Nova Scotia’s Trevor Chow of Hammonds Plains, N.S., Glenn Robinson of Middle Sackville, N.S., and Greg Black of Halifax, N.S.

Kevin Carrigan opened up his title defence at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship by firing a 8-under 63 on Tuesday at Blackhawk Golf Club.

The Victoria native carded three eagles and a closing nine 29 to set a new competitive course record at Blackhawk, after opening the day with an unplayable on the par-4 10th. Carrigan quickly rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 11th and rolled in his first eagle of the day on the par-5 15th hole.

“I took an unplayable on my first hole, didn’t seem like much of a round until I guess I made the second eagle, 3-under to 5-under I was hitting it well,” Carrigan said.

As the reigning Canadian Mid-Amateur champion, Carrigan lit up Blackhawk’s par-5’s playing them in 7-under par with three eagles on a windy afternoon.

“If you’re hitting it good, it doesn’t feel windy,” he continued. “I mis-clubbed a couple of times but never got myself into trouble, I didn’t really miss many shots.”

California’s David Bartman, trails Carrigan by four strokes after an opening round 4-under 67. Bartman’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 4th hole and leaves him three strokes ahead of Raymond Oh of Richmond, Ont., in the race for the Mid-Master (40+) title.

“I just kept it in play and took advantage of the par-5’s,” Bartman said. “If I did miss a green, my short game was solid.”

Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., sits in solo third after a 3-under 68, while Calgary’s Dustin Yeager opened with a 2-under 69 to grab a share of fourth place. Chris Moore of Vancouver and Oh currently sit in a tie for fifth at 1-under.

Saskatchewan’s Kris Carley recorded the shot of the day after holing a 255-yard hybrid on the par-5 7th hole for an albatross. The albatross was his second of the season and third double-eagle of his career.

In the Inter-Provincial team competition, Team Ontario’s Tyler McDannold of Brooklin, Ont., Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., and Darren Shaw of Stoney Creek, Ont., combined to card a even-par 142 opening round. The squad currently leads by four strokes over Nova Scotia’s Trevor Chow of Hammonds Plains, N.S., Glenn Robinson of Middle Sackville, N.S., and Greg Black of Halifax, N.S., heading into the final round of Inter-Provincial competition.