Stephen Ames adopted up a first-round 65 with an much more spectacular 8-under-par 64 on Saturday to seize a three-shot lead on the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Duluth, Ga.
The 59-year-old from Canada completed his day with a sizzle, recording three birdies over 4 holes earlier than sprucing off his card with an eagle on 18. That accomplished a 31 on the again 9, which included loads of quick greens.
“Yesterday I actually hit a good drive (on 18),” Ames mentioned. “It was most likely about possibly 20 toes left of the place I ought to have hit it, hit the hill and did not fairly get all the best way down, but it surely’s simply wonderful in case you get all the best way down there.
“And today I hit it on the proper line, which is a little further right. I actually stood up there and I’m like, wait, 141 front? It was unusual because, yeah, you never hit 9-irons into a par-5. And I hit a great second shot there to get it. I was a little in between yardages and I had to stand on the 9-iron to get it because it was actually 148 yards, but it worked out perfectly.”
Ames, who’s 15 underneath for the event, is searching for his second win of the season on Sunday after beforehand pocketing a victory in February on the Trophy Hassan II in Morocco.
“I don’t mind (playing with a lead), it is what it is,” Ames mentioned. “At the end of the day, it’s still you that you’re battling, you and your thoughts and your feelings and your emotions. That’s basically at the end of the day what I have to control, and right now I’ve been doing a very good job of it, and I’m going to continue doing the same thing tomorrow.”
Three golfers are inside 5 strokes of the lead. At the highest of that group sits Ken Tanigawa at 12 underneath. His spherical, a 6-under 66, included a bogey on No. 2 and a double-bogey on No. 7. Those had been greater than counterbalanced by seven birdies and an Ames-matching eagle on 18.
“Well, it makes dinner taste great, right, to finish with an eagle,” Tanigawa mentioned. “Yeah, momentum. But it’s great, but tomorrow’s a new day. Golf, as you know, who knows what it brings … Yeah, just go play hard tomorrow, whatever, see what happens.”
Sitting in third is Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez at 11 underneath for the event. He dropped an eagle on 13 as a part of his spherical of 66.
Y.E. Yang of South Korea notched a 68 on Saturday to finish up 5 behind Ames in fourth. His day featured seven birdies.
David Toms fell right into a tie for fifth place after sharing the lead on Day 1. His 2-under 70 was principally regular, with a pair of bogeys offset by 4 birdies.
Brett Quigley, after a 65, is now tied with Toms.
The remainder of the Top 10 consists of South Africa’s Ernie Els and Germany’s Bernhard Langer tied for seventh at 8 underneath, adopted by Steve Stricker, Timothy O’Neal, Lee Janzen and Australia’s Rod Pampling T9 at 7 underneath.
–Field Level Media