Ernie Els played himself into contention on Saturday in the second round of the PGA Tour Champions Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Georgia with a four-under-par 68 putting him in a share of third heading into the final round.
It was the second-best round of the day and, interestingly enough, the best came from Retief Goosen, who had a five-under-par 67 to move to three-under for the tournament and a share of eighth.
Els made five birdies and a bogey to find himself four shots off the lead which was held by David Toms at eight-under after he carded a one-under 71. Toms was two shots clear of Ken Duke, with who he shared the first-round lead. Els shared third with Jay Haas, Fred Couples and Steve Flesch. He climbed 28 places after his first round of level-par 72.
Goosen started his round on the 10th with a birdie, and he made four more ahead of the turn. He came home in level-par for his closing nine, with two birdies and two bogeys to climb 41 places on the leaderboard after his opening two-over 74.
The other South African in the field was David Frost, and he dropped 38 places to a share of 46-th after a second round of five-over 77.
On the PGA Tour, in tough rainy conditions, Dylan Frittelli’s four-over-par 74 saw him actually climb six places into a share of 44th after the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship. Dawie van der Walt had a six-over 76, and he dropped 25 places into a share of 54th. The lead there was held by Keegan Bradley at eight-under.
