Aaron Roth picked a good day to have a career round.

A sort of out-of-body experience is how Roth described his 68 at Anchorage Golf Course on Saturday, a day highlighted by a mid-round run that included a chip-in birdie at eight, an eagle at nine and birdies at 10 and 11.

“I struck the ball really well, made a lot of great putts,” Roth said. “At nine I hit it to three feet for eagle. It was probably the worst putt I hit all day, but somehow it snuck in.”

After that eagle at the par-5 ninth, Roth was 4-under par and said he started feeling nerves. Ironically, it was when his nerves settled that he started making poor shots, Roth said.

He fell from six under par through 12 holes to finish at 4-under, still good enough for a 7-shot lead over Jung Han, who shot 75. 

Tim Ruf is in third after a 76 and defending champion Greg Sanders shot 77.

Roth came tantalizingly close to winning the Anchorage Open in 2013, when he led after Round 1 and wound up missing a playoff by a shot.

Roth looks forward to a final round Sunday pairing with Ruf and Han, who are both friends. Roth expects some trash talking from Ruf and continued solid golf from Han, who won the Senior State Am earlier this summer.

Prior to Saturday, Roth had never shot under par and said he had not been playing well of late. Poor range sessions Friday night and Saturday morning didn’t leave him feeling optimistic, he said, but things started clicking early once he reached the course.