James Kingston stayed within shouting distance of the lead on Saturday with a second round of one-under-par 71 in the Legends Tour’s WCM Mexico Senior Open at Punta Mita Golf Club in Nayarit, Mexico.
Kingston, who was in a four-way share of the lead after the first round, made five birdies and four bogeys to reach seven-under for the tournament ahead of the final round. That left him in a share of eighth, four shots off the lead.
Steven Alker of New Zealand and England’s Simon Khan shared top spot at 11-under-par. The duo have surged into pole position with 18 holes to go in the Legends Tour’s penultimate event of the season, but there are major winners and Ryder Cup heroes in close attendance on an exciting leaderboard.
Alker was part of a four-way tie for the lead overnight and he ensured he remained at the summit by adding a 67 to his opening 66. The senior major winner birdied the third and eagled the ninth to make the turn at three-under for the day. A couple of bogeys at 11 and 13 halted his momentum, but he recovered with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th and a superb eagle at the par-five 17th to join Khan at 11-under.
“It was a little bit of a mixed bag,” said Alker, who secured his second Charles Schwab Cup on the Champions Tour last week. “I’m pleased to finish like that and be near the top of it. I knew the game was there, and I knew there were some chances coming in. I took advantage of them, so that was great. If we don’t have any wind tomorrow, there’s going to be some low scores again, so it’s just pedal to the metal and keep going.”
Earlier in the day, the Khan had set the clubhouse target with a 66 – matching the best round of the week so far. He eagled the fourth and picked up another shot at the sixth before making his first bogey of the week at eight. He made amends right away with a red number at the ninth, but dropped another on the very next hole. It was all positive from there though, as he birdied four of his remaining eight holes.
Reigning MCB Road to Mauritius number one Peter Baker, 2002 PGA Championship winner Rich Beem and experienced former PGA Tour player Greg Owen are two shots back in tied-third following rounds of 67, 67 and 66 respectively. It’s a great opportunity for Baker, who currently sits third in the Order of Merit, to close the gap to the number one spot with leading man Adilson Da Silva lying tied-26th and second place Scott Hend not teeing it up this week.
