The second round of the Senior PGA Championship on Friday was moving day for many players in the field. Most notably Jerry Pate whom was four under for the day leaving him with a one stroke lead. First round leader Graham Marsh had a somewhat disappointing day finishing at two-under par for the day, a score that could have easily been worse. Hale Irwin was also left in Pate’s dust after finishing three-over on the day, six shots behind for the tournament.
As Josh Permuda mentioned yesterday in the first round recap of the Senior PGA Championships, Irwin trails only Sam Snead for most Senior PGA Championship victories. A victory at the 66th Championship would mean he only trails Snead by one. His chance of victory may have diminished after today’s second round of play.
Jerry Pate said it has been 20 years since he was in contention at a PGA Tour or Champions Tour event but after the way he performed today, you would think he was lying. He had a streak of three straight birdies that seemed to cancel out his poor shot on hole no. 18. That poor shot, a bladed 4-iron that only traveled about 80 yards, led to a bogey. Pate was paired with Tom Purtzer (-5) and Ben Crenshaw (-2). The group had a fun and competitive second round.
“It was getting comical,” Jerry Pate said. “We were looking for some more holes to play.”
Pate had dealt with a recurring shoulder injury that left him unable to compete since the early 1980’s until just recently. Last year on the Champions Tour, he had 7 top ten finishing through 27 events and finished second at two tournaments.
R.W. Eaks (-2) trailed Pate by one stroke. His second round score of two-under par was a good addition to his first round score of three-under par. Mark McNulty (-6) and Mike Reid (-2) trailed the leader Pate by two shots. Hajime Meshiai (-1), a 12-time Japanese Tour winner and whom once played professional baseball, Dave Barr (E), and Tom McKnight (E) were three off the lead.
The biggest applause of the day goes to 75-year-old Arnold Palmer. He is a native of the western Pennsylvania area near the tournament’s venue. Arnie missed the cut after two rounds of 82 and 86 but he sank a long birdie putt on No. 17 which left fans cheering. That was only one of two birdies he had during the tournament. “What can you say after you shoot the kind of scores I shot?” Palmer said.
“It’s another of those emotional situations for me,” he said in regards to his fans supporting him since he was an amateur playing at nearby Latrobe Country Club.
Peter Jacobsen and Ray Floyd, whom are always fun to watch, rounded out the top ten on the leaderboard.
Photo Credits: © Getty Images
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