Pádraig Harrington made a big move in Saturday’s second round of the PGA TOUR Champions Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands Country Club in Texas, and he’s drawn within four strokes of Boo Weekley who leads.
Starting his round on the back nine, Harrington began with a birdie at the par-4 10th, before adding another at the par-5 13th.
The Dubliner would add one more circle to his card, taking the turn at three-under-par. Harrington’s back nine was almost identical to his front – making another three birdies.
Making a three at the par-4 second, fourth, and seventh, Harrington posted a six-under-par 66 to take him to eight-under and T5 heading into Sunday’s final round. The 54-year-old will be hoping for a strong finish on Sunday as he is hoping to earn his first win of the season.
Darren Clarke kept himself firmly in contention after the second round, as the Northern Irishman followed up his opening-round 68 with a three-under-par 69 on Saturday to move to seven-under for the tournament, leaving him tied for 12th heading into the final round.
Clarke’s round was built on consistency, with the 57-year-old carding five birdies across the day. Clarke made an early move with birdies at the par-5 first and the par-3 third to quickly get under par for the round. Another gain followed at the par-5 sixth as Clarke turned in three-under 35 and continued to climb the leaderboard.
After making the turn, Clarke held his momentum with further birdies at the par-3 14th and par-5 15th. Although he mixed in a couple of bogeys, Clarke kept cool throughout and closed out the round with a solid inward nine of 34 to sign for a 69.
Clarke sits in T12, just one back from Harrington at seven-under.
Boo Weekley continued his impressive week with another bogey-free performance in round two, carding a six-under-par 66 to move to 12-under overall and take the outright lead heading into Sunday.
The American looked in complete control throughout the day, mixing steady ball-striking with a confident putting display as he picked up six birdies without dropping a shot.
Ernie Els also kept himself firmly in the title race after producing a polished bogey-free 66 of his own to climb to 11-under-par in second place.
The South African made his move with a run of birdies towards the end of his round, making four in a row from holes 13 to 16.
Tom Pernice Jnr. and Charlie Wi occupy T3, as the pair sit just one ahead of Harrington at nine-under-par.
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