Ernie Els and Rod Pampling were tied for the lead after two rounds at the Principal Charity Classic on Saturday ahead of the final round of the Senior PGA Champions Tour event at Wakonda Golf Course in Des Moines, Iowa.
Pampling and Els were at 14-under-par 130, one stroke better than Bernhard Langer and Stephen Ames. David Duval, Kevin Sutherland and Vijay Singh were two strokes behind the leaders.
Els posted a four-under 68 after coming into the second round with a two-shot lead following his record 10-under-par 62 opening round. Pampling fired a seven-under 65 to grab his share of the lead.
Els matched his low 36-hole score on the PGA Tour Champions circuit after setting his lowest round ever in the first round. He is looking for his fourth win on the tour, after last winning last year in the Hoag Classic. It’s also the third time in a row that he is leading or sharing the lead heading into the final round of a tournament – and the last two were majors in the Regions Tradition and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
Making his fourth start since returning from an Achilles injury, 66-year-old Langer carded the low round of the day with nine-under 63. It is the 15th time Langer has shot his age or better on PGA Tour Champions.
Retief Goosen had a two-under 70 to move to seven-under and a share of 21st, while David Frost had a level-par 72 to stay at four-under in a share of 47th.
