Firing a 7-under 65, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington joined first-round leader Steve Alker of New Zealand atop the inaugural Simmons Bank Championship leaderboard after two rounds on Saturday in Little Rock, Ark.
Harrington, 53, bogeyed his first hole but quickly recovered with birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 and an eagle on the par-5 No. 8 hole. The Irishman, who is looking for his third win of the year and ninth career victory on the tour, sunk four more birdies on the back nine and sits 12 under through two rounds.
The Simmons Bank Championship replaces the TimberTech Championship, which Harrington won last year in Boca Raton, Fla.
“This is my third weekend in a row going into the last round with a shout,” Harrington said. “It’s where you want to be. I’m not 100 percent confident in my game at the moment, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Going to be a bit of a battle, I’m going to have to manage myself well tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Alker — coming off a bogey-free, 10-under 62 on Friday — managed only three birdies (Nos. 8, 14 and 18) and ran into trouble on the par-4 16th hole, settling for a bogey. Like Harrington, the 53-year-old New Zealander is also seeking his ninth career tour victory.
“Not so much was happening,” Alker said. “A lot of pars on that front. One birdie, No. 8 eventually got one. It was just kind of that day. The weather changed things, we had to adjust.
“Greens were a little bit slower and spinning, too. It was hard to get the ball close to the hole. Yeah, just two totally different rounds. That’s golf, suck it up. I think I’m right there, so good day tomorrow.”
Rod Pampling of Australia shot the lowest round of the day on Saturday at 64 and moved 12 spots into a six-way tie for third along with Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita, who jumped up 15 spots with a second-round 67, matching his first-round finish.
Pampling bogeyed the par-4th 6th hole but finished with nine birdies to put himself in the running for his third career win on the tour. Fujita, the 2024 U.S. Senior Open runner-up, is projected to advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, moving up to No. 36 from No. 51 in the standings. He overcame two bogeys with the help of seven birdies.
Joining Pampling and Fujita in third at 10 under are South Africa’s Retief Goosen (69 on Saturday), Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez (68), Vijay Singh (70) of Fiji and Jason Caron (69).
Ernie Els, the current Charles Schwab Cup leader finished at 4-under 71 and is tied for 22nd at 4 under. The South African is projected to drop to No. 2 in the Schwab Cup standings.
