Jim Furyk started the day three shots back but will take a two-shot lead into the final round.
PHOENIX — It was the marquee pairing of the day, as local favorites Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson teed it up in the second-to-last group in the second-to-last round at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Several hundred fans surrounded the first tee box at the start of their round Saturday at the Phoenix Country Club, a fitting venue for the former Wildcat (Furyk) and former Sun Devil (Mickelson) to do battle.
Furyk, 51, teed off first and went on to eagle the par-5 opening hole. He is one of four golfers still alive in the Schwab Cup race. Mickelson, 51, is not eligible but is seeking his fourth win in six starts on the PGA Tour Champions.
Their on-course battles go back to their college days and continued on the PGA Tour and now the Champions circuit.
“Phil attracts a crowd for sure,” Furyk said. “We’re in Sun Devil country so I heard a lot of ASU out there but Arizona is pretty big and Phoenix is a massive city, so a third of the folks here went to UofA. I’ve seen some support out there as well. It was fun. It’s great to be back in Arizona, it’s great to have that Arizona-Arizona State rivalry. And I’ve known Phil since we were in high school. Good to be out with someone who I played a ton of golf with throughout my career.”
Mickelson produced perhaps the shot of the day on the par-4 12th hole. After bombing his drive well left of the green, his ball settled in the rough in a spot nearly behind the 16th tee box.
Mickelson then pulled off one of his patented flop shots, landing the ball perfectly on the green, where it nestled about two feet away. He would then make the birdie putt to get to 12 under.
Furyk started the day three shots back of Kirk Triplett of Scottsdale. A birdie on nine gave Furyk the outright lead at 14 under. Triplett, who opened the week 65-64, later followed with a birdie of his own on the ninth to get to 14 under. He is seeking his first win in more than two years.
On 15, Furyk almost made an ace on the par-3 hole, although he wasn’t quite sure just how close it was.
“You can’t tell from the tee box,” Furyk said. “I had one that was really close on Thursday, same hole, that Billy Ray [Brown of Golf Channel] said took a peek.”
Furyk closed with three straight pars for a 65 and leads by one after 54 holes at 16 under.
“Scores are low but you want to be patient. You don’t want to force it in there and make stupid bogeys,” he said. “I got myself in a good position.”
Triplett is solo second at 15 under after a 69 and is looking forward to Sunday’s final round in Furyk’s group.
“I haven’t played with Jim in a long time, I am looking forward to it,” Triplett said. “That’s the nice thing about this Champions tour, you get to play with some guys you haven’t played with in a while.”
Stephen Ames shot a 65 to get to 14 under. He is tied for third with Steven Alker, who’s had a meteoric rise on the Champions circuit since turning 50 in July. From New Zealand, Alker moved to Arizona nearly two decades ago, and won last week on the Champions tour, his first win anywhere since 2014. He has posted a top-10 in nine of his last 10 events.
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Mickelson is solo fifth at 13 under after a third-round 68. He closed his round with a birdie on the par-5 18th. He has birdied the hole all three days so far.
The round of the day was recorded by Bernhard Langer, 64, who shot a 63 thanks to a bogey-free day that included four birdies and two eagles, on No. 1 and No. 18. It’s the second time in three months he shot his age or better.
Langer is doing this despite a balky back, which he says started acting up during Wednesday’s pro-am. On Thursday, he admitted he had thoughts of withdrawing, but after talking with his doctor, who said he can’t make things worse, decided to stick it out in his quest for a record sixth Schwab Cup title.
“On this occasion, my doctor assured me I couldn’t do any more damage to it, so that reassured my mind to fight through it, especially Thursday was pretty tough.”
Langer, now tied for ninth at 10 under, came into the week with the lead in the points race but will start Sunday in second.
However, if either Langer or Furyk win the tournament Sunday, they will also claim the Schwab Cup.
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