JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Patience is a virtue on courses such as the Timuquana Country Club, but when opportunity strikes – as it did on the back nine Saturday for Steve Stricker – it’s time to take charge.
Stricker came from two shots off the lead through 12 holes by playing the next four at 5 under, and with a tournament-record 64, seized the second-round lead in the Constellation Furyk & Friends at 11-under 133.
Tournament host Jim Furyk (69) and Mike Weir (68) are tied for second at 8 under and will play with Stricker in the last group for Sunday’s final round.
Not to be dismissed are Lee Janzen (68) and Thongchai Jaidee (65) at 7 under. There’s a crowd at 6 under led by 65-year-old Bernhard Langer (68), who had three birdies and an eagle on the back nine, Ken Duke (68), who aced the par-3 17th hole, Padraig Harrington (69), Steve Flesch (71) and Rob Labritz (71).
Harrington and Labritz both birdied the final hole.
Stricker will be trying to break a five-way tie for the most victories on the PGA Tour Champions this season with three, and he will be gunning for his third victory in four starts. Since finishing second in the U.S. Senior Open, he’s finished among the top three in five of his last six starts and Saturday was his 10th consecutive round in the 60s and his 17th in a row at par or lower.
He started his move to the top with an 8-foot birdie putt at the par-5 13th, converting a bunker shot. Stricker made a 15-footer for birdie at the par-3 14th, eagled the par-5 15th on a 25-foot putt and then dropped another one of similar length at the par-4 16th.
“You never know when a run like that’s going to come,” he said. “You just try to keep plugging along. Some of these par 3s you’re just trying to get it on the green. You literally are just trying to get it on the green and go from there, make a par and move on. They’re difficult to hit.”
Stricker played the par-5s at 5 under and made par all six times he missed a green.
“He’s playing really solid right now,” Furyk said. “We’re going to have to go catch him.”
Furyk made only one birdie among his first 12 holes but he drove the ball better (hitting 11 fairways) and failed to get up and down only once after missing five greens.
“I’m actually real happy with the round today,” said the Jacksonville resident. “To be honest with you, more solid. [Friday] I got a little loose, hit some awkward tee shots, had some really good saves, especially on the way in.
“Today was a little bit more textbook, kind of kept it in the fairway a lot,” he added. “I hit a bunch of greens. When I did miss greens, I put the ball usually in pretty good positions to get the ball up and down. Really, I was more comfortable if that made sense.”
Weir had a run of four birdies on his first six holes on the front nine, rapping in short putts at Nos. 2 and 5 along with a 25-footer at No. 4 and a 17-footer at No. 6. He missed only two greens.
Weir briefly took the lead with a birdie at No. 9 but played the back even par, swapping a birdie at No. 15 for a bogey at the 16th.
“I gave myself a lot of chances, especially on the back nine,” he said. “They [putts] just didn’t want to go in. I got on a run there on the front nine, hit some close shots. I felt like I could have got on another run, but sometimes they go in and they don’t. It will be tough to catch [Stricker] tomorrow.”
Duke made his sixth hole-in-one in PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions competition, using a 9-iron from 138 yards out at the 17th. It’s the second ace in the two-year history of the Furyk & Friends, with both coming on the same hole. Tom Lehman made one at the 17th last year.
Duke said he was getting frustrated after taking a bogey at the par-5 15th, courtesy of a water shot.
“I was telling [his caddie], ‘let’s make something,’” he said. “Just hit a green.”
Duke broke into an awkward victory dance of sorts, prompting some judging from the Golf Channel announcers.
“Dancing with the Stars is not calling me any time soon,” he said.