BOCA RATON, Fla. — Tim Petrovic called it a birdie-fest. He should know.
Petrovic made 16 birdies in 36 holes Saturday, including 11 in a second-round 61, during a marathon day of golf at the TimberTech Championship.
And all that got him was a share of the lead with Jim Furyk at 14-under 130 entering Sunday’s final round at Broken Sound Club.
“Every time I made a birdie, I looked up and Jim was making a birdie,” Petrovic said. “It was like a birdie-fest this afternoon. The greens are soft, so they’re holding and (it was) kind of just a putting contest out there.”
The field played 36 holes after Friday’s round was postponed because of heavy rains. Making it more difficult, the players had to walk all 36 holes because carts are not allowed during the tour’s three playoff events.
Petrovic’s bogey-free 61 was his career low and matches the lowest round on the PGA Tour Champions this season (Phil Mickelson and David Morland). Petrovic, playing in his 100th career event, is looking for his first victory on the 50-and-older circuit.
Furyk’s birdies also came in bunches – he had six in a seven-hole stretch during the second round – as he shot 66-64. The highlight was when he chipped in from a greenside bunker at No. 10 for birdie.
“I did a good job of getting the ball in the hole and scoring,” Furyk said. “I gave myself a lot of opportunities today with the irons and was able to make some really good reads and knock in a bunch of putts.”
Saturday started in windy, misty conditions before the weather cleared and the players took advantage during the afternoon round. While Petrovic had the lowest round, unheralded Steven Alker of New Zealand shot a 29 on his front nine in the second round, starting birdie-eagle-birdie. Alker (68-63) is a shot back of the leaders.
“I finished strong this morning and that gave me some momentum going into the afternoon,” said Alker, who had no status on this tour until he had seven top-10s in eight starts since turning 50 in July. “I had a great run. It was fun.”
Hall of Famer Ernie Els is alone in fourth, three back, after rounds of 67 and 66. Els is trying to win for the third time on the PGA Tour Champions.
“If you played properly, you could make birdies,” Els said. “The greens are putting beautifully. It’s there for the taking, but you’ve also got to play carefully. You can’t just go blindly at it.”
Bernhard Langer played alongside Furyk and Els in the marquee threesome, but couldn’t match their games Saturday. Langer shot 70-69 and is in 15th place, nine shots back.
Langer made some uncharacteristic mistakes, bogeying the short par-4 seventh hole and then made a double bogey at the ninth.
“It certainly wasn’t my best,” Langer said. “I made a bunch of birdies, but way too many bogeys. I was way too inconsistent and I didn’t putt well, either.”
Langer leads in the Charles Schwab Cup standings as he tries to win the championship for the sixth time, but Furyk and Els can narrow the gap with a win Sunday.
Brett Quigley had three birdies early in the second round to lead at 8-under. But he made a quadruple bogey at the par-4 ninth, a pair of double bogeys on the back nine and dropped to 35th after a 76.
It wasn’t his swing, Quigley said. It was a swollen left knee.
“I came out of the locker room for the afternoon round and my knee had blown up,” Quigley said. “The trainer came out on the fifth hole, wrapped it up and gave me some Tylenol. I just couldn’t get up against it (knee). It was a struggle all day.”
Defending champion Darren Clarke’s hopes of repeating ended with a 79 in the first round. Clarke made a quadruple bogey on the par-3 eighth.
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