Kevin Sutherland and South Korean Y.E. Yang shot matching 66s on Saturday to remain atop the leaderboard of the Ascension Charity Classic in St. Louis.
The pair sit at 12-under-par 130, holding a one-shot lead over Ken Duke, who fired a 65. Sutherland is the only player bogey-free through 36 holes.
Yang and Sutherland were part of a quartet of players who led after 18 holes.
Brett Quigley (second-round 64) and Steve Flesch (66) are tied for fourth at 10 under. Four others are four shots off the lead in a tie for sixth.
Sutherland carded five birdies as he vies for his sixth title on the Champions Tour. He holds the lead or co-lead after 36 holes for the 10th time.
“I’ve done a good job of managing mistakes, and I ended up making some pars — I’ve made some good pars, especially yesterday, not so much today,” Sutherland said. “I hit it a little better today than I did yesterday. The score wasn’t as good. I actually felt like I played a little better today. I feel good about it.”
Yang made seven birdies against two bogeys for his round, marking his best 36-hole total on the Champions Tour.
Quigley played himself into contention, his 64 matching his low round on tour and tying the tournament course record. He had a chaotic front nine, starting birdie-eagle before carding two bogeys and another two birdies going out. He settled down on the back, posting four birdies.
“Very pleased overall,” Quigley said. “Got off to a great start and then kind of puttered around there on the front nine and made a nice birdie on 9 and kind of got jump-started again. Fortunately (I) made a few nice putts, and all of a sudden it was 7-under.”
Colin Montgomerie of Scotland vaulted 42 spots up the leaderboard, also shooting 64.
First round co-leader Billy Mayfair shot 70 on Saturday and is among the group tied at 8 under. The fourth co-leader, Tim O’Neal, shot 71 and dropped into a tie for 10th along with three others, including Montgomerie.
–Field Level Media