Despite shooting a 7-under-par 63 to grab the lead at the Rogers Charity Classic, Ryan Armour afterward was still dwelling on the hole that got away on Saturday in Calgary, Alberta.
The hole in question, the par-4, 490-yard 15th at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club, tormented Armour into a double bogey, briefly dropping him to 5 under for the day.
But Armour rallied, sinking birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 to get back to 12 under for the tournament, a stroke ahead of the field.
“It was going nice,” Armour said. “But it’s golf. It’s 18 holes, it’s 54 holes out here. Bad things are going to happen and you’ve gotta adjust. You gotta make some birdies. You’ve gotta go out there and play well.”
Multiple players posted impressive rounds on Saturday, pushing Armour to acknowledge that closing out a victory won’t be easy.
“Guys shot 61s and (62s) today … people can come from four or five (shots) back and make a run at you, so you’ve got to go out and play well.”
One of those 61s belonged to second-place Steven Alker of New Zealand, who was 9 under on his way to 11 under for the tournament.
Alker’s day included an eagle on the par-5 11th. He added eight birdies and one bogey.
First-day leaders Richard Green of Australia and Rob Labritz of the United States are part of nine-player tie at 10 under in a tie for third place. Green, last year’s champion, and Labritz matched scores for the second straight day, shooting identical 67s.
They’re joined by Zach Johnson (62 on Saturday), Bo Van Pelt (62), J.J. Henry (62), Brian Gay (64), Michael Block (65), Australia’s Michael Wright (64) and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez (66).
Mike Weir remains the top scoring Canadian at PGA Tour Champions’ only Canada event after two rounds. He’s tied for 18th at 7 under.
