Scott McCarron takes a two-shot lead into today’s final round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship
No wind, no problem.
That sums up the first two rounds of the PGA Tour Champions’ Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship as the seniors feasted on a cool, but calm Saturday on the Jack and Steve Nicklaus-designed resort course in Langford.
No breeze meant scoring with ease for these wily veterans.
First-round leader Scott McCarron takes a two-shot lead into today’s third and final round after recording a 5-under 66 to go with his course-record 62 on Friday for a 128 total.
It looked like McCarron and Doug Garwood, who began the day two back and matched the 66, were going to run off and hide, Garwood in particular as he was 6-under 29 on the front nine. He birdied his first three holes, as well as Nos. 7, 8 and 9.
Two bad swings on Nos. 12 and 14 blitzed what was a two-shot lead as he stood on the 12th tee.
McCarron made eagle on the par-5 12th, the easiest hole over the first two days, while Garwood lost his tee shot right, had to punch it out into the fairway and suffered a three-putt bogey. Garwood also double-bogeyed the scenic par-3 14th as he left it short of the green.
“Overall, I played pretty good,” said McCarron, a former Canadian Tour (now PGA Tour Canada-Mackenzie Tour) player. “Doug got off to a great start, 6-under after the first nine holes and I thought he was going to be pretty tough to catch. Unfortunately he came back a little bit to us in the end.
“Obviously, I feel pretty good. I’d rather be two shots ahead than two shots behind. I’ve been playing nicely over the last couple of days,” said McCarron.
Garwood (64-66) still likes his position, especially after finishing with a 12-foot birdie on No. 18. It was a story of what could have been, however.
“The one on 14, I was probably trying to give it a little extra, came up and out of it, a little thin. I thought I was headed to the bunker and hit the rocks and that was that,” Garwood said of his doublebogey on the par-3. “I played well on the front nine.”
Meanwhile, big-names like Colin Montgomerie, Jeff Maggert, Jay Haas, Mark O’Meara and lesser known, but still well recognized Brian Henninger, stepped on the gas with the best rounds of the day, all with 7-under 64s.
Montgomerie (67-64) sits third at 131, one back of Garwood and Scott Dunlap, another former Canadian Tour player, shot 65 and is fourth at 134. Maggert, O’Meara, Henninger, Jeff Sluman and Olin Browne are all tied for fifth at 133 totals.
Bear Mountain member Ryan Ruedebusch is caddying for O’Meara this week.
The conditions have factored in, obviously, as the mountain course appears toothless without the wind.
“Yes, I suppose so, if it gets windy here it’s obviously more difficult,” said Montgomerie. “It’s the cold really and the damp that you have to get used to.”
The Scotsman is the only player in the field to go bogey-free over two rounds.
“We’ll keep going with that and we’ll hopefully have the same tomorrow,” said Montgomerie, who recorded seven birdies in Round 2, including a five-footer on No. 18 as his group had a solid gallery following him up the final hole.
Haas had five birdies on the back nine at holes 10, 12, 14, 16 and 17 after an opening 70 on Friday and took advantage of those conditions, although he does sit six shots back in a three-way tie for 10th.
“When you’re 40th to start the day at 1-under it’s pretty hard to catch those guys. I would have to go crazy (Sunday),” said Haas. “It’s hard to predict what the scores are going to be when you first see a course.
“It didn’t seem as easy as the scores are indicating. The greens are fairly receptive, they’re soft, they’re a good speed to putt and the weather, other than being cool, has been good. There has been no wind to speak of so it’s been gettable.”
Victoria’s Jim Rutledge led the Canadian contingent with a 2-under 69 to sit in a tie for 51st at even-par 142.
Leaders will tee it up in the third and final round of the $2.5-million US event at 1:01 p.m. today with the first group going off at 8:15 a.m. The winner takes home $375,000, while last-place money is $1,075.