TYLER – Having finished as low amateur the last two Texas State Opens, Dallas' Martin Piller is poised to finish as the low pro.

He enters today's final round with a one-stroke lead over Shawn Stefani of Baytown, Shaun Melville of Lubbock and Dustin Garza of Mission. Dallas' Scott Abbott is fifth, two shots back.

While shooting rounds of 69-64-67 at The Cascades, Piller hasn't noticed much difference as a professional. But he will if he maintains his lead. The winner earns $25,000.

That could come in handy for Piller. Scheduled to graduate from Texas A&M in August, he missed a summer-school exam in atmospheric science to play.

"I didn't know what to tell my professor," Piller said, laughing. "I said, 'I'm a professional golfer and I'm going to miss the test.' He was cool. I don't have any aspirations to be a big amateur, so I figured I may as well make some money."

Piller has followed the time-tested guideline for earning money on the golf course – making 13 birdies and two eagles over 54 holes.

Piller was a solid player at A&M, making the lineup in all four of his seasons. But his victory total equals the amount of money he's earned as an amateur.

"I'm kind of disappointed in my amateur career," he said. "I haven't won a tournament in a while, and I really want to."

Three tie for low round: Stefani's 65 tied for low round of the day. He made his move with six birdies and one bogey over the final 15 holes.

The other 65s came from Fort Worth's Adam Meyer and Beaumont's Dawie Van Der Walt. They are tied for sixth with McKinney amateur Christopher Ward and Mansfield's Martin Flores.

McKinney amateur in good position: Ward got off to a remarkable start with four birdies over the first six holes. The most dramatic came at the par-3 5th, where he made a putt of about 70 feet.

"It went through the fringe, down the hill, up the hill, back down the hill, and then it broke right," he said. But he didn't make another birdie over the final 13 holes, missing two 4-foot putts.

Still, Ward and Garza are in position to become only the second amateur to win the Texas State Open. Homero Blancas claimed the inaugural event in 1960.

Two brothers competing: Kenny Huff began teaching brothers Bobby and Cody Massa in 2000 when he was at Four Seasons Resort at Las Colinas. Eight years later, Huff is the head pro at The Cascades, Cody is one of his assistant pros, and Cody and Bobby are playing this week. Bobby, who lives in Grand Prairie, is tied for 17th, and Cody is tied for 47th.

(At Tyler)

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

Third of four rounds

(The Cascades, par 70- a-amateur)

200 (10 under)

Martin Piller, Dallas, 69-64-67

201 (9 under)

Shawn Stefani, Baytown, 69-67-65

Shaun Melville, Lubbock, 68-67-66

a-Dustin Garza, Mission, 66-68-67

202 (8 under)

Scott Abbott, Dallas, 68-66-68

203 (7 under)

Dawie Van Der Walt, Beaumont, 71-67-65

Adam Meyer, Fort Worth, 69-69-65

Martin Flores, Mansfield, 71-66-66

a-Christopher Ward, McKinney, 65-70-68

204 (6 under)

Thomas Ostasik, Tulsa, Okla., 70-66-68

Ryan Posey, Dallas, 65-70-69

Pablo Acuna, Houston, 65-68-71

205 (5 under)

David D. Schultz, Dallas, 74-65-66

Andrew Dresser, Carrollton, 71-67-67

Matthew Rosenfeld, Plano, 67-70-68

206 (4 under)

Greg Hamilton, Rusk, 66-71-69

207 (3 under)

Lance Vasquez, Aledo, 72-66-69

Justin Bates, Allen, 68-69-70

Brad Gibson, Denton, 68-68-71

Adam Crawford, Queensland, Australia, 66-69-72

a-Bobby Massa, Grand Prairie, 68-66-73

208 (2 under)

Clark Dennis, Fort Worth, 69-71-68

Jeff Burns, San Antonio, 72-67-69

Vince Jewell, Dallas, 67-72-69

Anthony Broussard, Denton, 69-68-71

Lonny Alexander, New Braunfels, 67-68-73

209 (1 under)

Michael Arnaud, Orange, 68-69-72

Brian Rowell, Lafayette, La., 71-67-71

210 (even)

Ryan Baca, Richmond, 67-76-67

Michael Brice, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 72-68-70

Kevin Dillen, Paris, 68-70-72

211 (1 over)

Thomas Baker, Canton, Ga, 66-74-71

212 (2 over)

Jaxon Brigman, Frisco, 72-71-69

Perry Arthur, Plano, 72-69-71

Ben Willman, The Woodlands, 70-69-73

a-Jaime Garcia, Channelview, 69-70-73

213 (3 over)

Kyle Edwards, Austin, 73-70-70

Scott Sikes, Bedford, 73-70-70

Todd Rossetti, McKinney, 70-72-71

Brent Akins, Longview, 71-68-74

214 (4 over)

Kevin Newman, Conroe, 69-74-71

Chad Williams, Corsicana, 68-75-71

Luke Doebele, Kingwood, 72-70-72

Brad Lardon, Bryan, 74-68-72

Brian Marini, Austin, 72-69-73

Bryan Buie, Irving, 69-72-73

215 (5 over)

Cody Massa, Tyler, 73-69-73

Brian Wilson, Fort Worth, 75-66-74

Chris Winton, Plano, 71-70-74

Christopher James, Edmond, Okla., 68-73-74

Troy Lewis, Keller, 72-67-76

216 (6 over)

a-Jeff Dick, Sherman, 69-73-74

217 (7 over)

a-Ryan Haselden, Houston, 75-68-74

a-Bryant Lach, The Woodlands, 71-70-76

218 (8 over)

Michael Henderson, Benbrook, 73-69-76

Billy Harris, Dallas, 72-70-76

a-Tommy Sikes, Midland, 71-71-76

219 (9 over)

Jason Alexander, Spring, 72-71-76

a-Kevin Schultz, Richardson, 73-70-76

Alan Johnson, Pasadena, 68-74-77

220 (10 over)

Justin Orbin, Point, 74-69-77

223 (13 over)

John Sikes, Frankston, 74-68-81