Ireland’s Padraig Harrington continued his hot play from a day earlier, firing a 5-under-par 67 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C.
He carded seven birdies against two bogeys for a two-round total of 11-under 133 at Prestonwood Country Club. David Toms, who shot 65 on Saturday including an ace and an eagle, Shane Bertsch (67) and Jerry Kelly (69) are tied for second place at 8 under.
Harrington had birdied five of his final nine holes on Friday to card a bogey-free 6-under 66 for sole possession of second place behind Billy Andrade. Harrington made birdies on Saturday at Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12 and 17, including about a 90-footer at the par-3 No. 3.
“Like I kind of knew I couldn’t play as well as I played (Friday),” Harrington said Saturday. “Today I hit some of those good shots and I hit some ropey ones at times as well. I think when it comes to golf, when you get into contention, it’s more about managing what you’re doing than anything else. It’s hard to be free up, let’s say, when you’ve got a lead, especially on this course.”
A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Harrington is in position to do much better than his first two starts at the SAS Championship, a tie for 25th in 2022 and a tie for 45th last year.
“I’ve got a three-shot lead and it means nothing,” Harrington said. “I’ve got to turn up (Sunday) and probably play good golf. You just don’t get given tournaments. You don’t get to declare, ‘Hey, I’m three ahead, that means I win.’ No, I have to turn up (Sunday) and play some good golf to keep this lead.”
Toms moved up 26 spots after his opening-round 71 with his play on Saturday. He was 2-under 33 on the front nine with a bogey and three birdies. Then he really heated up with an ace at the par-3 No. 11 bookended by birdies at Nos. 10 and 12.
“It was pretty uneventful until the last couple holes on the front nine,” Toms said. “I birdied 8, birdied 9, birdied 10. Then made a hole-in-one on No. 11, kind of came out of nowhere.”
The pin placement at the back of the green meant only the golf marshals likely saw Toms’ tee shot go in the hole at the 202-yard, par-3 No. 11.
“I knew it was good, it was going right at it,” said Toms, who used a 5-iron on his hole-in-one. “We saw it disappear over the hill, so we knew it was good. Then all of a sudden the lady held up her ‘hush’ sign and was — she wasn’t really going totally crazy, so that was a shocker.
“I thought maybe it hit the pin and just maybe fell off. But then (golfer) Cameron Percy, he was in a cart and he got up there before me and said it was in, so that was kind of cool.”
Toms followed a bogey at the par-4 No. 15 with an eagle at No. 16 before closing out with a birdie and a bogey.
Bertsch collected six birdies and one bogey, while Kelly managed five birdies and two bogeys to slide into a three-way tie for second.
Andrade tumbled 20 places into a tie for 21st at 3 under after a 4-over 76 marred by a triple bogey at the par-4 No. 5 and a double bogey at the par-5 No. 12. He also made two birdies and one bogey.
Andrade has three wins on the PGA Tour Champions, all in his second year on tour in 2015.
Defending champion Rod Pampling of Australia shot 69 and is tied for 33rd at 1 under.
The regular-season finale is the final chance for players to improve their standing before the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. After Sunday’s final round, the top 72 players will qualify for the playoffs.
–Field Level Media
