Ernie Els celebrated his 56th birthday by grabbing a share of the lead at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, opening the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs with a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 on Friday at The Country Club of Virginia in Richmond.
“You don’t want to screw up your birthday with a bad round of golf,” Els said. “I don’t know how I kept bogeys off my card, but we did. It was a nice day for scoring.”
Els is tied with Justin Leonard and Steve Allan after 18 holes. Leonard also posted a clean 6-under-par 66, while Allan carded nine birdies against three bogeys, including a four-birdie run on the front nine.
“It was (a rollercoaster),” Allan said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball my best. I hit some good shots out there early, but a lot of shaky ones. Kind of found something when I was out there, so even though still hit a few shaky ones, felt a lot more solid coming off the club, a lot nicer, and putted and chipped really well, a couple of lucky ones.”
The playoff opener features 69 players. Only the top 54 in the season standings after Sunday advance to next week’s Simmons Bank Championship in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Bernhard Langer, Greg Chalmers, Retief Goosen, Y.E. Yang and rookie Freddie Jacobson sit in a group tied for fourth, two shots back at 4 under. Langer was bogey-free with four back-nine birdies as he chases a record-extending 48th PGA Tour Champions win. Last week’s SAS Championship winner, Alex Cejka, opened 3 under, and defending champion Tim O’Neal began 1 under.
“I played very solid tee to green,” Lander said. “Couldn’t put myself into a lot of trouble or where I could make bogeys. One great up-and-down, I think it was No. 5. Otherwise, it was very solid, lots of greens in regulation. It’s just a matter of if I can make a few putts or not.”
With an ideal weather forecast and the leaderboard packed, Els said the task is straightforward.
“It’s going to be a bit of a shootout I think this weekend,” Els said. “The weather looks good, the golf course is in great shape, so you’re going to have to shoot low.”
