While he’s probably too far back to pull off a surprise win, Retief Goosen stayed inside the top five on Saturday with a three-under-par 68 in the third round of the PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, Arizona.
Goosen had yet another bogey-free round, making two birdies on the front nine and one on the 18th as he moved to 13-under-par for the tournament. But Padraig Harrington’s nine-under-par 62 took him five shots clear at the top of the leaderboard to 21-under-par. In second is the man leading Harrington in the Charles Schwab Cup points race which concludes after the final round, Steven Alker of New Zealand. Alker’s 68 took him to 16-under.
Goosen was projected to rise eight places on the points list from 19th to 11th, but all eyes are on the race at the top of that list. As things stand, Harrington would not overtake Alker, so the Irishman needs someone to push Alker further down the leaderboard. That’s where Goosen comes into play, as well as third-placed Brian Gay of the United States who was on 15-under through 54 holes and Germany’s Alex Cjeka who was on 14-under.
