Kiwi senior golfer Steven Alker shot his second straight bogey-free round at the Charles Schwab Championship today, a seven-under 64 that gave him a one-shot lead over Padraig Harrington.
The Champions Tour points leader, Alker made seven birdies at Phoenix Country Club to reach 13-under through two rounds, keeping himcomfortably in front of the only player who can overtake him for the Schwab Cup.
“I know what I’ve got to do, the numbers are all there,” Alker said. “It’s kind of black and white.”
Harrington also shot 64 and was 12-under, but needs to win and have Alker finish outside the top five to win the Champions Tour season title.
“It seems that the Schwab Cup could be a bit of a long shot at this stage, but I’m very much in the tournament and that’s what we’re going to focus on now,” Harrington said.
Retief Goosen shot 64 and was tied for third at 10-under with Brian Gay, who shot 65.
Bernhard Langer closed with a bogey on the reachable par-five 18th to shoot 69. He’s at six back at seven-under in his bid to match Hale Irwin’s record of 45 senior tour wins.
Alker had to make a 15-foot par putt on No 17 to preserve a bogey-free 65 to tie for the lead in the opening round, but spent most of a balmy Saturday in the desert hitting fairways and greens.
The 51-year-old opened the second round with consecutive birdies and added two more to turn in four-under 32. Alker rolled in a birdie putt on the short par-four 11th and another on No 15 after squeezing his tee shot on the par three between a tight pin and a bunker.
He added another birdie on the par-four 17th, but pulled his tee shot into the left rough on the par-five 18th. Alker hit his second shot over a strand of trees to the fairway and his third to 30 feet, but left the birdie putt short.
Alker has some wiggle room headed into the final two rounds in his bid to go from PGA Tour journeyman to champion of the over-50 circuit.
Harrington shot an opening 66 and reeled off four birdies in five holes to start his second round. The three-time major champion from Ireland added two more birdies before a three-putt bogey on the 15th.
Harrington birdied No 17 and reached No 18 in two, but left a 30-foot eagle putt short, tapping in for birdie to stay one behind the Kiwi who looks set to deny him season-long honours.
Also going for season-long honours are fellow Kiwis Ryan Fox and Lydia Ko.
Ryan Fox of New Zealand shelters under an umbrella on the first hole during day two of the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Photo / Getty
Fox shared the lead alongside Luke Donald at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa when lightning and then rain interrupted the second round.
The co-leaders had played only three holes when the round was suspended for the day and they have to return tonight to get through 33 holes to complete their second and third rounds at Gary Player Country Club.
There was just enough time for European Ryder Cup captain Donald to pick up a birdie on No 2 to join Fox at the top of the leaderboard on eight-under par. Fox, the overnight leader after an opening-round 64, also birdied No 2 but dropped a shot on the next hole.
England’s Donald hasn’t won a tournament on the European or PGA Tour for a decade, while New Zealand’s Fox would overtake Rory McIlroy at the top of the European tour season rankings with a victory at Sun City. McIlroy isn’t playing at the Nedbank Challenge.
There is one more tournament on the 2022 schedule after the Nedbank, the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai next week.
Donald and Fox are two clear of Ross Fisher, Rasmus Højgaard and Guido Migliozzi, who also didn’t complete their second rounds.
On the LPGA Tour, Ko is in a tie for 23rd at two-under after the first round of the penultimate event of the season, the Pelican Championship. Ko leads the season-long Race to CME Globe, and with her major rivals for the title either not competing this week or behind Ko after the first round, the title will likely be decided at the final event next week.
This week’s event in Florida has been shortened to 54 holes after a hurricane, with Mexico’s Maria Faasi leading by two strokes at eight-under.
On the PGA Tour, Kiwi Danny Lee is at risk of missing the cut at the Houston Open.
Lee was at one-over for the tournament with three holes remaining when his second round was cut short due to weather, sitting one stroke outside the cut line.
Lee has an eagle putt on No 16 when he resumes, but with plenty of players left to complete their second rounds, the cut is expected to be made at one-under, with Lee requiring a strong finish to make his second straight cut.
Tony Finau leads by four strokes at 13-under after firing an eight-under 62 in his second round.
