BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (Keynote USA) — Ernie Els kept mistakes to a minimum down the stretch Saturday and hit a tight corner for birdie on his final hole for a 2-under 69, giving him a share of the lead with Greg Chalmers leading the way. to the final round of the Senior PGA Championship.
Chalmers, the left-handed Australian known for his putting, scored a 66 and made only two bogeys, a good mark on the Harbor Shores course that gave so many attacks.
Els, a four-time major champion and one of the best of his generation, is in an excellent position to finally claim a first major title on the senior circuit. This is his 17th senior major, and even he was surprised to be at the top of the rankings.
They were at 10-under 203.
England’s Richard Bland, the LIV Golf player entering his first senior major from an exemption category he didn’t know existed, started at 12 under and then began a quick slide through a tentative putt and shot 74 to fall one shot behind.
“I’m lucky to be up there,” Els said. “You know, 10 under par leads right now; He was leading 12 under par yesterday. I played solid. I didn’t play spectacular, but I played solid enough to get there.”
There was enough wind, difficult pin positions and difficult greens in the Jack Nicklaus layout that it took nearly six hours for the 83 players who made the cut to complete the third round.
“Hopefully, tomorrow we can make better progress,” Els said.
There could be a lot of movement in the standings. Harbor Shores produced its share of birdies, particularly on the downwind par 5s, but it didn’t take much for players to get out of position and find themselves fighting for par.
Still, it was crowded at the top.
Bland and Chris DiMarco, who didn’t make a birdie on the back nine in his round of 71, were one shot behind. Australia’s Richard Green had two eagles and only managed a 70 after a bogey on the final hole.
The four players who were three shots behind included defending champion Steve Stricker, former British Open champion Stewart Cink and Jason Caron, a former PGA Tour player and one of the club professionals competing in the Senior PGA Championship.
Chalmers made five consecutive birdies starting on No. 6 to take the lead before his golf became “a little rough” on the back nine. It was his iron control that made him think he had a good chance of capturing his first senior major.
“I didn’t feel very comfortable with my driver today, but I felt very comfortable with all the other areas of my game,” Chalmers said. “So if I can fix that for tomorrow, I’ll see if we can go out and compete. “It looks pretty crowded at the moment, so hopefully it should be an exciting day.”
Bland struggled with the wind, distance control and his putting. He made four bogeys in a six-hole stretch around the bend (he parred the downwind, par-5 ninth, which felt like a bogey) and found himself up to two shots behind.
He birdied the par-3 17th to get within one of Els and Chalmers, and that gave him a dose of perspective. Part of him is happy to be on the field. He was not aware of a one-time exemption for players who have won in the last five years on the European tour.
Bland couldn’t use it last year because it conflicted with LIV Golf Bedminster. But this year he was able to use it and enters the final round just one shot behind.
“If someone had offered you a chance to lead at the beginning of the week, I probably would have taken it. “I don’t feel so good right now, but I have to keep going,” Bland said. “I’ve been here long enough to know you’re going to have some bad days. Of course you are. But work a little now and try to improve a little.”
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