Iowa’s own Zach Johnson delivered a spectacular round on Saturday, carding a 9-under-par 63 to pull into a three-way tie for the lead at the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines. Johnson now sits at 12-under for the tournament alongside Brett Quigley and Australian Scott Hend, who had shared the first-round lead.
Johnson’s 63 was the best round of the tournament and matched his personal low for the season. He got hot on the front nine by making birdies on five straight holes — Nos. 4 through 8 — and then picked up four more birdies coming in on the back nine.
“Today was good. I mean, I putted nice,” Johnson said. “I still feel like I left some shots out there. Kind of eats at you, but at the same time I made a couple putts that you’re not supposed to make so it probably all evened out in that regard. Yeah, excited. I put myself in a place now where I can make a run tomorrow.”
In his first season on the tour, the 50-year-old Johnson has finished inside the top ten in each of his seven starts. He is seeking his second Champions Tour win of the year, having previously claimed victory at the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational back in March.
Quigley turned in a 7-under 65 on Saturday, highlighted by birdies on both par-3s on the back nine — including the course’s most difficult hole, the 198-yard 14th. On the prospect of being paired with the hometown favorite Johnson in Sunday’s final round, Quigley was enthusiastic.
“I love that. I mean, we like playing in front of people. It certainly means a little bit more and gets us a little more fired up, a little more excited knowing that everybody will be pulling for Zach,” Quigley said. “That’s an easy like. He’s one of the greatest guys in the world, obviously world-class player and just he’ll be right there.”
Hend, who leads the field in putts per green in regulation at 1.50, birdied all four par-5s on the course for the second day in a row. However, he acknowledged that a rain delay made for a tricky start to his round on Saturday.
“I found it a bit hard to get a grasp of the speed of the greens after we had the rain delay,” Hend said. “Took me a little while to sort of get back into how soft the greens had got and the slowness of them. Just took me a little while to get used to it again. Picked that up as we went into the back nine.”
Six players are within two strokes of the top. South Africa’s Retief Goosen shot a 64 to sit at 11-under, joined by Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen (65) and Australia’s David Bransdon (66). Doug Barron (67), Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal (67), and Vaughn Taylor (68) are bunched together at 10-under.
Playing in front of a crowd that will almost certainly be cheering him on, Johnson acknowledged the support he receives from fans while keeping his focus firmly on the task ahead.
“Well, fortunately, I’ve had that response for quite some time,” Johnson said. “I do not take it for granted. The fans are amazing. I do zone out, so apologies if I ignore or don’t hear you because I’m zoned out. There’s not a whole lot — I’m thick-skulled, like there’s not a whole lot going on up there so I’ve got to keep it simple and not try to get too distracted.”
