Mills takes 54-hole lead at Jacksonville Open

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Jon Mills saved par out of a bunker on No. 8 en route to his 4-under 66 Saturday.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- As the last full-field event on the Nationwide Tour this season comes to a close, many the players on top of the leaderboard at the inaugural Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters are trying to make moves on the money list for several different reasons.

Winn-Dixie Open

Leaderboard
Round 4 Tee Times
Scorecard: Mills
Scorecard: Chappell
Scorecard: Bertsch
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THE 25

Jon Mills shot a 4-under-66 to move to 10-under-par for a two-stroke lead over Rob Oppenheim, Kevin Chappell, Shane Bertsch and Craig Barlow. Mills is trying to get into "THE 25" on the money list to earn one of 25 spots on the 2011 PGA TOUR. Currently ranked 31st , the two-time career winner on the Nationwide Tour would likely move into the top 10 with a victory this week. Mills won the 2005 Canadian PGA Championship presented by MasterCard and the 2007 Albertsons Boise Open.

"This is the time of year were you are getting a lot of guys out here feeling the pressure of what they are playing for," Mills said. "We all know what's at stake. That comes with this time of year. I have to keep the pedal down, but you have to take what you can get on this golf course."

Rob Oppenheim, sitting at No. 59 on the money list, shot a third-round 67 and finished Saturday at 8-under-par. Oppenheim needs to remain in the top 60 on the money list to gain a spot in the field at next week's Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in his first season on the Tour.

"That was the goal coming into my first year out here. I thought if I could finish the year in the top 60 and get into the Nationwide Tour Championship, then it was a good year," Oppenheim said. "I made the cut last week, but didn't finish too well and slipped a few spots. If you are in that Tour Championship and you have a good week, then you can end up getting your TOUR card. Today was a big round for me to play well and as long as nothing disastrous happens tomorrow, I'll be playing next week."

Kevin Chappell is watching the money list for a different reason. At No. 8 on the money list, Chappell is guaranteed his PGA TOUR card in 2011. But with a victory this week, Chappell could move to the coveted No. 1 spot on the money list. The No. 1 player on the Nationwide Tour money list gains a full exemption on the PGA TOUR gaining entry into every tournament that he eligible to play, including the other event held at TPC Sawgrass -- THE PLAYERS Championship.

"Whether I am 80th or 8th on the money list, I would like to think that my focus will always just be on playing my best and trying to win a golf tournament," Chappell said. "To be honest, I haven't thought about the money list all year. I have a chance to win a golf tournament and that's all you can ask for going into Sunday. There shouldn't be any more emphasis going into the last tournament of the year than the first tournament of the year."

Playing in the same group as Oppenheim, Shane Bertsch also shot a 3-under 67 and is in the group at 8 under. Bertsch is playing under a medical exemption that gives him entry into five Nationwide Tour events. He would need a victory and some help to even get into the Nationwide Tour Championship. He has battled injuries and illnesses during that time, including an ongoing battle with vertigo since 2006 (which he treats with medicine today), a broken foot at the end of the 2008 season and a broken hand suffered earlier this year.

Barlow, also at 8-under-par, has played both the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour this year with his best finish on the PGA TOUR coming at the Reno-Tahoe Open where he finished T5. In 10 PGA TOUR events, Barlow has made eight cuts, while in 14 Nationwide Tour events, he has made just seven.

Third-Round Notes:

• Jon Mills only needed 22 putts during the third round, the least number of putts in the field on Saturday.

• In 152 previous Nationwide Tour starts, Mills has only once held the 54-hole lead before. He went on to win at the 2005 Canadian PGA Championship presented by MasterCard.

• The par 3, 11th hole played at 230 yards with the pin tucked in the back left portion of the green. There were zero birdies on the hole. It played to a 3.415 average and was the second most difficult hole of the day. The scoring average on Saturday was 70.938. For the week, the average was 70.716.

• Nationwide Tour rookie and two-time All-American from Clemson, Kyle Stanley made a nice run on moving day shooting the round of the day with a 65 to move from T26 to T6 and at 7-under-par, three off the lead.

• This is the last chance for players to move in or out of the top 60 on the money list in order to gain a spot in next week's Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. Below is a look at how players on the bubble stand through 54 holes: