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If Michael Sim’s pursuers in the Southern Amateur want to try and overtake him in the final round at The Honors on Saturday, they’re going to have to work to do it.

Sim isn’t likely to give the tournament away.

That much was apparent in Friday’s third round, when five players on the leaderboard threw sub-70 rounds at Sim, the Australian who’s toured the U.S. this summer, playing in as many significant amateur tournaments as he could enter.

If Sim felt any heat amid all the red numbers being shot, he didn’t show it. He calmly fashioned a 2-under-par 70. Coupled with his opening 71 and a tournament-low 66 the next day, Sim stands at 9-under-par 207, four shots ahead of Trip Kuehne and Spencer Levin. Ryan Posey is another shot behind at 212 after a 68 on Friday, and former Southern Amateur champion Lee Williams and Dalton’s David Noll are at 213. Both shot 69.

Chattanooga’s Andrew Black salvaged a 71 and stands at 1-under-par 214.

Sim had never played The Honors before this week and didn’t even get to play a practice round before the tournament began because his clubs arrived in Chattanooga after he did. But he’s quickly learned his way around the course. He knows the dangers that lurk at nearly ever hole.

"Anything can happen on this course," Sim said, "if I don’t keep doing what I’m doing. If I could keep driving the ball well and shoot around even par [Saturday], I’d be happy with that."

Sim, whose strength is driving the ball straight and "staying around par," has finished among the top seven in three of his last four tournaments, including a third-place finish in the Sahalee last week.

Career amateur Kuehne, who shot a back-nine 31, and Levin, the low amateur at last month’s U.S. Open and a junior at the University of New Mexico, did their best to close the gap on Sim on the back nine. Kuehne shot 31 and wound up with the day’s best round, a 67. Levin shot 34 for a 69.

Sim probably didn’t know what Kuehne and Levin were doing, and it might not have mattered if he had. He played solid golf all day, and even the holes he bogeyed (Nos. 8 and 9) were more the result of mental errors than bad swings. Sim turned at 36, birdied No. 13 to go one under for the day and then pretty much coasted to the clubhouse.

The closest Sim came to having a problem was the par-3 16^th. His tee shot missed the green left and the ball wound up in a fluffy, downhill lie. Faced with an awkward stance and not much green to negotiate, Sim tried to keep his second shot on the ground. When his ball stopped rolling, Sim was faced with a 20-foot par putt, which he calmly proceeded to drain.

"That helped me hold things together a little bit," Sim said.

Eight under par as he headed toward the 17^th tee, Sim reached the par-5 hole with a 6-iron, and he two-putted for a birdie that took him to 9-under. A routine par at No. 18 sealed the deal and set up a great final round pairing that includes Levin and Keuhne.

"It’s going to be a good last group," Sim said. "I watched Spencer in the U.S. Open, I know he can play. And Trip has played on the Walker Cup team. They’re both great players."

Kuehne made birdies four birdies and an eagle on the back nine, along with a bogey at No. 14. The eagle was a sight to behold. Kuehne, nearly as long as brother Hank, hit a 2-iron off the tee that left him 242 yards to the green. Kuehne doesn’t carry a 3-iron, so he decided to hit a 4.

"I hit a high draw and also happened to pure it," Kuehne said. "It turned out perfect."

Kuehne was left with a 12-foot putt, which he knocked in for the eagle.

Kuehne loves The Honors and has mostly fond memories of the course. His father was a charter member, even though the family is from Texas.

"When I found out the Southern Amateur was here, I couldn’t wait to come back," Kuehne said. "I shot bookend 80s to end my college career [in the 1996 NCAA Championships], and I wanted to come back and do better this time. I’ve been coming to The Honors for a long time. My first hole in one was here [at 12, he hit a 5-iron into the hole at No. 3]. We used to come up here for a week at a time and play in junior tournaments. The Honors is the perfect course for me."

Levin has steadily climbed up the leaderboard after an opening-round 73. He made five birdies and a couple of bogeys on Friday for a second-straight 69.

Levin, who has finished 13^th in the U.S. Open and won the California Amateur and the California Scratch Player Championship in the last month, has been satisfied with his performance at The Honors, save for one judgment error in the first round. He tried to force a lob wedge onto the 9^th green instead of hitting an easy sand wedge. His shot landed in the water in front of the green and he ended up making a double-bogey.

"If I’d hit the sand wedge, I’d be seven under right now," Levin said. "But everybody can probably single out a hole or two that they wish they could have back. All in all, I’ve been happy with the way I’ve played.

"It’s going to be a fun [Saturday]. I’ve never played with Trip before. He’s a great player. And obviously Michael has been playing well."

Among the Chattanooga contingent left in the tournament, Ricky Honeycutt shot a 72 and is at 216, tied for 11^th. Chris Gilliland is tied for 17^th after a 71 on Friday gave him a three-day total of 219. McCallie star Adam Mitchell finally hit a wall after shooting a par of 72s in the first two rounds. Mitchell got off to a bad start with a triple bogey at No. 2 and finished with an 81. He’s tied for 45^th.