RICHMOND — South Africa’s Ernie Els continued his brilliant form on Saturday, carding a 5-under-par 67 at The Country Club of Virginia to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
It was the second straight bogey-free round for the 56-year-old four-time major winner. “That’s never a goal of mine, to keep a clean scorecard — it just happened that way,” Els said. “But it’s nice, means I’m playing solid.”
South Korea’s Y.E. Yang and Germany’s Bernhard Langer also shot 67s to stay within two strokes, while South Africa’s Retief Goosen (68) and Justin Leonard (70) sit three shots behind.
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Langer, a two-time winner of this event, rebounded from a triple-bogey 6 at the 14th hole with four straight birdies to close strong. “It was a triple bogey and it wasn’t even a bad shot,” Langer said. “You think you’ve seen it all, and then something else comes up.”
Els praised the course and weather, saying, “The golf course is just so pure. The weather conditions have been absolutely fabulous. Tomorrow’s going to be a little breezier, more challenging.” Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez produced the round of the day with a 7-under 65, climbing 34 spots on the leaderboard.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Mike Weir is making a push to break into the top 54 on the Charles Schwab Cup points list, which would qualify him for next week’s Simmons Bank Championship. Weir began the week ranked No. 71, but his strong play has him projected at No. 53 heading into Sunday.