SANYA, China—After eight straight pars at Yalong Bay Golf Club, American Trevor Sluman, who was playing in the final group, found his ball plugged next to the bunker wall on hole 9. In fear of making a bogey, he hit a "miraculous shot" to within a foot of the cup that would lead to birdie. It was that shot Sluman said gave him the boost he needed on the back nine. He followed his ninth-hole heroics with an eagle on No 13 and three consecutive birdies en route to a 6-under 66 and a two-stroke lead going into Sunday at the Sanya Championship.

"The hole I made my first birdie was the hole I probably came closest to making a bogey. I was in a bad place against the bunker with my feet outside of the bunker. I hit a pretty miraculous shot," said Sluman. "But I managed to make birdie, so that fueled the back nine, I would say, and got me over the hump to score a great round."

Sluman, who finished ninth on the Tour's 2018 Order of Merit, lies at 18-under after three rounds of 67-65-66. He is looking to keep the momentum going Sunday while seeking his first win in a four-day professional event since graduating from the University of Louisville in 2015.

Despite never winning, Sluman has come close on several occasions. Last week, he tied for fifth at the Chongqing Championship, and he recorded a runner-up at last year's Macau Championship. He's in position to finally get over the hump.

"I've been playing good the last three days. I've been playing smart golf, and I haven't been trying to do anything I'm not capable of and just playing my strengths, which is my driving. I'm just going to keep doing that and keep picturing all those birdies," said Sluman. "I think if I can just play the way I've been playing, we should be OK for tomorrow."

Fellow Americans Matt Gilchrest (68), Michael Perras (68), and Max McGreevy (67) are also looking to win their first PGA TOUR-affiliated event and are just two strokes behind. Gilchrest came close to winning when he lost in a playoff in a 2018 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica event, while McGreevy had three top-10s on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada in 2017. Perras is contending for the first time in his rookie year after graduating from the University of Houston in 2018.

The Haikou Championship is PGA TOUR Series-China's third event of the season and will take place April 8-14 at Sunac Haikou 3 KM Golf Club.