BEAUMONT — BEAUMONT — Anthony Broussard, who enters the final round one shot off the pace of co-leaders Franklin Corpening and Chris Walling, will have more than just the incentive of notching his first Adams Tour Pro Series victory today at Beaumont Country Club.

A hometown guy and Kelly High School grad, Anthony wants to win the Beaumont Open for his grandfather, Arlen D. (Bubba) Moye, who passed away three weeks ago.

“He was my biggest fan. He was always there to watch me and he always wanted me to win this tournament,” said Broussard, after posting his second consecutive six-under par 65 on Friday to stand at 14-under-par 199.  “It would be awesome for me to be able to win here.”

Corpening (66-198) and Walling (68-198), of course, will be trying to prevent that from happening. So will six other players who are within five shots of the lead at the 54-hole mark. But Broussard will have hometown backing, home-course advantage and maybe even a spiritual boost.

The 27-year-old, who played collegiately at North Texas, says he’s been playing the best golf of his life over the past few months, starting about the time he came from a shot back to win an NGA Tour (formerly Hooters Tour) event in Houston. His last Adams Tour start produced a T5 in the Garland Classic.

“I have a lot of confidence in my game,” Broussard said. “Up until about five months ago, my ball striking was really bad. But I worked with Chuck Cook in Austin and Brian White (LU golf coach), and it’s so much better. Plus I’ve really improved my short game, with help from Joran (Red Dog) Meeks at Redstone.”

Broussard was near flawless Friday, negating a long bogey at the par 3, 4th with five birdies — No.1, No. 10, No. 11, No. 14 and No. 15 — plus a second consecutive eagle at the par 5, 9th. He hit driver, 3-wood to 9, then rolled in a 25-footer for the eagle.

Since starting the tournament bogey, double bogey on Wednesday, Broussard is 17-under-par over the next 52 holes.

“Obviously, I wasn’t too happy with the way I started,” he said. “But when stuff goes real bad, I try to not react and just stay cool. I tend to get a lot more upset when I miss a short putt. The third hole on Wednesday really helped me stay calm.”

On that third hole, a 385-yard, par 4, Broussard holed his second shot for an eagle with a 56-degree wedge. Since then, little has gone wrong.

Broussard, who will try to play his way into PGA Tour school starting in mid October at Castle Hills in the Dallas area, said he expects to have to go low again on Saturday to win.

“The golf course is in great shape and it’s probably set up as tough as it can be. It just can’t stand up to the technology of today,” he said. “The greens are firm, there’s some good rough around them and pins are tucked pretty good. But there are a lot of birdie opportunities.”

While Broussard is in position to win, the rest of the Southeast Texas contingent is back in the pack. Andrew Landry 72-208 is tied for 18th, and Michael Arnaud (72-211) and Casey Clendenon (75-211) are tied for 36th.

Broussard tees off in the next to last group today at 9:39 a.m. Landry’s tee time is 8:18. Arnaud and Clendenon are paired together and go off No. 10 at 8:45.