Rocco Mediate walks down from the 18th tee during the final round of the Galleri Classic in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Sunday, March 26, 2023. Rocco Mediate shot a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday to join Bob Estes atop the leaderboard after two rounds at the Constellation Furyk & Friends in Jacksonville, Fla.
Mediate birdied three of his first six holes and finished with seven on the day, overcoming a bogey on the par-4 No. 10 as he seeks his fifth Champions win and first since the 2019 Sanford International.
“Kept it just in front of me,” said Mediate, who is at 11-under 133 through two rounds at Timuquana Country Club. “Didn’t really make any — well, missed two and a half feet on 10, but you look at that and you go, well, that’s the way it is. Just keep moving.
“Just got to keep it in front of you. This course will destroy you if you’re not in the right place. Period. So, so far we’re in the right place.”
Estes, who held a share of the first-round lead after shooting 66, finished at 5-under 67 on Saturday, highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 12th hole. Estes, shot 31 on the back nine and finished with four birdies to offset a bogey on par-4 No. 8.
“Obviously I didn’t play nearly as well on the front,” said Estes, who won four times on the PGA Tour but is in search of first win on the Champions Tour. “Then when I holed that sand wedge on No. 12, that kind of got me going and made few more after that. So, yeah, played much better for the most part on the back nine as compared to the front.”
Vijay Singh of Fiji is tied for third with Mario Tiziani after both shot a 68 for the second straight day. Singh birdied holes Nos. 2 and 7, as well as 12, 13 and 15, with a bogey on the par-3 14th hole.
“That was a surprise after four weeks off,” Singh said of his performance this weekend. “I think the game has always been there. It’s my head that’s never been there. I think I’m feeling a little bit better upstairs so that’s kind of helping the golf game.”
Tiziani overcame a pair of early bogeys on Nos. 1 and 4, sinking four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th hole.
Y.E. Yang of South Korea (68 on Saturday), Lee Janzen (69), Jason Caron (70) and Tim Petrovic (69) are tied for fifth at 7-under 137.
Joe Durant, who held a share of the first-round lead, stumbled to a 77 on Saturday and dropped into a tie for 43rd. He’s at 1-under 143 after a double bogey on the par-4 10th hole and three more bogeys on the back nine (Nos. 14, 16 and 17).
Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson, who was also atop the leaderboard after Friday, fell into a tie for 24th after a second-round 74. He posted seven bogeys and five birdies on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
