Birmingham, Ala. — Robert Carlson and defending champ Steve Stricker stepped up Saturday in the zonal mimic, as Carlson shot a 9-under 63 to match the low score since this PGA Tour Champions tournament moved to its current location.
Stricker closed with four consecutive birdies for 64 to match Carlson’s 16-under 200 at Founders Stadium in Greystone, before two shots from Padraig Harrington (65).
The 56-year-old Stricker, a two-time Tradition winner and a four-time major champion on the Over-50 Tour, bogeyed up and down the par-5 18th hole to close and seal his birdie string. Ghost free tour. The Charles Schwab Cup leaders have two wins and a runner-up in their last four matches at Greyston.
The hot end caught him with Carlson after the 6-foot-5 Swede converted his lowest tournament round since moving to Greystone, one shot behind the tournament total record reached by Brad Bryant in the first round at Sunriver in Oregon. in 2009.
Carlson holed the par-5 13th hole and closed it out with his birdie eight. An 11-time winner on the European Tour, Karlsson has never won a PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions tournament.
“There are a lot of good players at the top, so it will be enough for me to focus on my game and try to continue what I’m doing, and then we’ll see what happens,” said Carlsson.
Paul Broadhurst (68) had three shots. 2021 Tradition winner Alex Sigka, Timothy O’Neal and Jerry Kelly were four back.
Round two leader Ernie Els double-bogey the hole with five seconds to go and shot a 72 to lose six shots out of the lead.
Carlson has two second-place finishes in 132 on the PGA Tour and four more in 59 First Tour appearances. He was a two-time Ryder Cup player, and won the 2008 European Tour money title after finishing in the top eight at the Masters Tournament, the US Open, and the British Open.
Carlson bounced back with a birdie after bogeying a three-putt on the 14th. His second putt bounced high off the stand on the 18th and returned to the green to hit another birdie. He has been doing additional work on site with swing coach Mark Blackburn, who is based in Greyston.
“Over the past few months, I’ve been working a little bit,” said Carlson, who was 21st and 58th in his last two events. “Though I didn’t quite put it together, I kind of saw the signs — at least I saw the signs, even though they looked horrific at times.”