Mike Weir extends lead in Cologuard Classic; Tim Petrovic makes hole-in-one history

Mike Weir, seeking his first professional victory in 14 years, expanded his lead at the Cologuard Classic on Saturday.

One of the players chasing him did something that hadn’t been accomplished on the PGA Tour Champions in 17 years.

Weir, the left-hander from Canada who’s in the midst of reviving his career on the Champions Tour, shot a 6-under 67 at Omni Tucson National Resort. He sits at 13 under par entering Sunday’s final round, two strokes clear of Kevin Sutherland, who also shot a 67.

“The back nine was fun,” said Weir, who made seven birdies over the final nine holes. “A little bummed that I bogeyed 18. But very pleased with my round, pleased with the way I’m hitting it.”

Weir is setting himself up for success. He’s averaging 299.3 yards off the tee and hitting fairways 89.29% of the time. That has led to 31 greens in regulation out of 36 holes.

“In two days, I can’t recall a time where I’ve hit so many shots close to the hole,” Weir said. “I’ve hit a lot of shots that have been almost tap-in (range) to just outside of tap-in.”

Six players are within five shots of the lead. They include Tim Petrovic, who made an ace on the 14th hole. It was Petrovic’s second hole-in-one in as many days. He aced the 16th hole Friday. Petrovic became the first player on the PGA Tour Champions to record two holes-in-one in one tournament since Graham Marsh did it at The Senior Open Championship in 2004.

“I heard someone say, ‘Go in,’ and I’m like, ‘No, it can’t — there’s no way,’” said Petrovic, who matched Weir and Sutherland with a 6-under 67. “I just had one yesterday, and it’s been six years since I had the one before that.”

Petrovic reacted to the shocking development by flopping to the ground on the 14th tee box.

“And then I kind of got in the fetal position,” he said with a smile. “That’s all I could do. But nobody came and picked me up. So I kind of picked myself back up again.

“It was fun. You’ve got to get a little lucky. I got a little lucky bounce forward.

“The greens are firm. And it hit just (dead) on.”

When told that a player hadn’t made two holes-in-one in the same tournament in 17 years, Petrovic smirked.

“There is a stat for everything,” he said. “I think Arnold Palmer did it. Somebody told me he did it in a tournament (on) back-to-back days. That may be the only category that I’m in with him.”

Petrovic, 54, has one career victory as a professional — the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2005. He has seven runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour Champions, including last summer’s Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National. Petrovic finished at 18 under — four shots behind Champions Tour rookie Phil Mickelson.

Mickelson came to Tucson seeking an unprecedented third victory in three starts on the PGA Tour Champions. But he has yet to break 70 and sits in a tie for 22nd place at 4 under par.

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“I’m pretty frustrated,” said Mickelson, who shot a 1-under 72 Saturday. “I feel like I’m playing a lot better than I’m scoring. I made one mental lapse yesterday and today, both caused out of bounds, and on holes where you shouldn’t hit it out (No. 13 Friday, No. 2 Saturday). I’m just a little bit down, because I want to play well here so bad.

“But we’ve got one more round. I’m going to come out tomorrow and play as well as I can and see if I can get a little bit of momentum and make a move.”

Like Mickelson, Weir is a PGA Tour Champions rookie. His best finish came at last year’s Dominion Energy Charity Classic, where he finished second — three shots behind Mickelson.

Weir entered the final round in Richmond, Virginia, with a three-stroke lead, so he isn’t taking anything for granted. His approach Sunday — when the temperature is expected to drop and the wind to pick up — is to take it one shot at a time. He can’t afford to think about how long it’s been since he’s won — a span of 233 starts worldwide.

“That’s the mentality,” Weir said. “It’s cliché obviously, but that’s the goal — to try to not get ahead of yourself.

“When I get on that first tee tomorrow, just be focused on that shot and trying to make a good swing and get off to a good start. Who knows, you can get on a run like I did today. You’re not trying to get on that run, but when you’re in that mindset, sometimes those just kind of appear.”

Weir’s lead shrunk from three shots to two Saturday when he bogeyed the 18th hole despite hitting a perfect 3-wood off the tee. On his approach to the green, the ball was slightly above Weir’s feet. The heel of his club caught in the grass, causing the ball to hook slightly to the right. His bump-and-run pitch from the intermediate rough came up short.

The 469-yard, par-4 18th has been even more dastardly than usual this year. Always one of the toughest holes on tour, No. 18 — which has water hazards on both sides of the fairway and a hump in the middle — is playing .602 shots over par. The last time a hole played at least six-tenths of a stroke over par on the PGA Tour Champions was No. 9 at Royal Porthcawl in the 2017 Senior Open Championship. That hole, a par-4, played to an average of 4.65 strokes.

Petrovic bogeyed the hole for the second straight day despite finding the fairway with a 2-iron off the tee.

“You hit it down the middle, it goes in the water,” he lamented. “You pull it, it goes in the water. You push it, it goes in the water. So that leaves what? Today, I hit it about 280 into the wind with a 2-iron.”

And Friday?

“No. I hit driver and pulled it. Fed the fishes.”

Chip shots

• Jeff Maggert posted the low round of the day, a 7-under 66 that placed him in a tie for fifth with Petrovic and David Toms. Maggert ended his round by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on 18. The hole has yielded only seven birdies over two rounds.
• Scott Parel shot a 6-under 67 and has sole possession of third place at 10 under. Scott Verplank, who played with Weir, shot a 3-under 70 and sits in fourth at 9 under.
• University of Arizona alum Jim Furyk shot a 4-under 69, a three-shot improvement over Friday. Furyk, who’s making his Cologuard Classic debut, is tied for 15th at 5 under.
• Defending champion Bernhard Langer also shot a 69 and is tied for 11th at 6 under.
• John Daly withdrew after playing 12 holes Saturday, citing a knee injury.