Pádraig Harrington will need to produce something special today if he is to win his first Senior PGA Championship at The Concession Club.
Despite making a positive move with a two-under 70, Harrington still sits in a share of 14th place on six-under-par, five shots behind Keith Horne.
The three-time major winner mixed four birdies and two bogeys, including one at the 18th which has not been kind to him this week, having played it in a combined two-over-par so far.
Horne of South Africa overcame the nerves of not feeling comfortable with his swing by posting a 6-under 66 for a one-shot lead Saturday, giving him a shot at the biggest win of his career.
Horne never contended in a regular major championship because he never played in one. He has nine Sunshine Tour wins in South Africa, none in the two decades he spent on the Asian Tour. His best world ranking was No. 173.
But he was holding his own against past major champions like Stewart Cink and Vijay Singh.
“There’s nothing better than playing in a big golf tournament and feeling in full control of your golf swing, but you know, that’s not the case this week,” Horne said. “It’s not like it’s terrible or anything like that, but it’s enough to make me nervous about just standing up and swinging it at the target.
“I’m really staying in the moment, because I’m worried about the golf swing and what could potentially go wrong,” he said. “So it really does keep me in the moment, but it does also make me a little bit more anxious on a lot of the shots.”
He managed just fine, his lone bogey coming on the opening hole. He was at 11-under 205, one shot ahead of Cink (70), Steve Allan (68), Scott Hend (72) and Thammanoon Sriroj of Thailand, who had thrills and a few spills in his round of 66.
Cink has enjoyed six wins on the Champions Tour but he is yet to clinch his first senior major. The 2009 Open champion vows to keep being aggressive and put as much pressure as he can on the unheralded Horne.
“We’ll have to be aggressive,” Cink said. “It’s going to take a really good round tomorrow. I don’t think I can expect to shoot the same as today and win this tournament.”
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