Ernie Els shot the joint low round of the day on Saturday when signed for a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 in the second round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa.
With five birdies on the front nine and three on the back, Els jumped 26 places on the leaderboard of the 54-hole tournament into a share of fifth on 10-under-par after 36 holes. That put him five strokes behind the lead, which was held by Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain at 15-under after he signed for rounds of 63 and 66.
One stroke behind Els, in a share of ninth, was Retief Goosen on nine-under-par, after he, too, had a superb second round. The two-time US Open champion, who was in contention in last week’s Senior PGA Championship, made an eagle and five birdies on his way to a seven-under-par 65.
Keith Horne climbed seven places on the leaderboard into a share of 24th with his second round of four-under-par 68. He dropped a shot on the 13th hole after starting his round on the 10th, but made five birdies to make up for that early slip.
Jimenez is looking for his third win of the PGA Tour Champions season to match Angel Cabrera, who has two majors under his belt already. The Spaniard leads by two from Australian Cameron Percy, with American Kevin Sutherland in third on 12-under.