Darren Clarke was left to rue a late double bogey that cost him a place inside the top 10 going into the final round of the Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS on the PGA Tour Champions.
The six-time senior circuit winner opened with a six-under 66 that left him tied for seventh and made his way to the 17th tee in round two at 10-under overall after making six birdies and two bogeys over the previous 16 holes. But after finding the greenside bunker on the par-3 17th, he failed to get his ball on the putting surface and took three shots to get down, dropping him back to -8 and into a share of 15th place.
Chris Devlin, playing on a sponsor’s invitation, also had a late stumble, though his was less significant than Clarke’s. The Northern Irishman opened with a two-under 70 but starting on the 10th, birdied five of his first 17 holes in round two to climb to -7 before closing out with a bogey to leave him in a share of 27th at -6.
The unquestionable round-of-the-day belonged to Mathew Goggin. The Australian carded a bogey-free 10-under 62 to shoot to the top of the leaderboard, and at -16, he’ll take a one-stroke lead over fellow countryman Rod Pampling into the final round.
Goggin was one of three players to earn his spot in the field by advancing through pre-qualifying earlier in the week and he’s looking to become just the 16th player in Champions Tour history to win after pre-qualifying.
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