Six regular PGA Tour events and three major championships removed from his stirring come-from-behind victory in the 2012 U.S. Amateur almost a year ago, Steven Fox gave a demonstration of what he’s learned in the third round of the Tennessee Amateur on Thursday.

For 17 holes at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, Fox put on a clinic of smart, steady, precision golf, splitting fairways, hitting greens, saving par when he didn’t and taking advantage of the birdie opportunities he gave himself. Clearly, the perks of winning the Amateur, all those exemptions on Tour, the chance to play side-by-side with some of the greats of the game at Augusta National, Merion and Muirfield have had a positive impact on his game.

“Coming back here [to amateur golf], I’ve played with a lot of confidence,” Fox said. “If you play with the best, you feel like you are the best. You have a lot of confidence.”

Fox’s 2-under-par 68 on Thursday allowed him to slip past back-sliding 36-hole leader Grant Milner, who shot 74 and went from leading Fox by two strokes at the start of the day to trailing him by four at the end of it. At 7 under par for the tournament, Fox will have an interesting final-round pairing. He’ll be joined by his closest pursuer, Vanderbilt player Carson Jacobs, who shot 66 on Thursday and is 6-under. Fox and Jacobs were teammates at Hendersonville High School.

Neither player will get caught up with worrying about the other, though. Lurking behind them at 3-under is Tim Jackson, the 54-year-old defending Amateur champion who is looking to win his sixth title. Jackson shot his third straight 69 on Thursday and always has to be accounted for. He’s tied with Milner and Ryan Thornton.

Fox could have put a bit more distance between himself and Jacobs if it hadn’t been for the par-3 18^th hole, playing at about 217 yards on Thursday. Told by Chattanooga G&CC head professional Bruce Etter that a thunder storm was fast approaching that could have forced the players off the course, Fox stepped up to the tee and pulled his shot wide of the green.

His second shot landed on the fringe, 30 feet short of the hole, and his chip rolled out six feet past. He missed the putt for a double-bogey.

Asked if he felt rushed on the tee, Fox refused to use that as an excuse for his tee shot.

“Maybe a little bit,” he said. “But that shouldn’t dictate how you play the hole at all. You should still take your time. It didn’t factor in.”

The final hole was the only blemish on Fox’s card.

“Today was the best round I had, swing wise, until it came down to 18,” Fox said.

Milner, who led this tournament after 36 holes two years ago only to finish fifth, got off to a quick start on Thursday, making a birdie at No. 1. But he gave the stroke back with a bogey at No. 2 and made another bogey, to Fox’s birdie, at No. 4. That left them tied at 6-under for the tournament.

Both birdied No. 7 and went to the back nine tied.

Fox jumped ahead with a birdie at the short par-4 11^th, hitting a wedge to about two feet. His lead grew to a pair of strokes after Milner took three putts from just off the green at No. 12. It was three shots when Milner three-putted No. 13, a short par 3. Another bogey at 15 dropped him to 4 under, and when Fox birdied the par-5 16^th to get to 9 under, Milner was down by five shots.

“My speed was definitely off today,” Milner said. “Especially on long putts. I had the speed down yesterday. Today, it just wasn’t there. It was just one of those days.”

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98th Tennessee State Amateur Leaderboard