Mike Weir sets the pace heading to final round of Dick's Sporting Goods Open

Through long shadows and squinty eyes, late-finishing competitors concluded Round 2 of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open on Saturday following a late-afternoon weather delay just shy of two hours.

Mike Weir will seek his second PGA Tour Champions win beginning 1 p.m. Sunday at En-Joie Golf Course following rounds of 67 and 65. His lead is one over Padraig Harrington and three over Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.

Jim Furyk is among a trio four off the lead following a 1-under 71. Beyond those, it’d take some serious doing to chase down a victory in Endicott, given the strength above.

Play was suspended a bit before 3 p.m. with the final group playing the sixth and leader Els _ 9-under at the time _ a hole ahead. The delay lingered 1 hour, 57 minutes.

Weir, 52 and an eight-time winner on the regular tour, made bogey on the second hole but set in motion a brilliant stretch beginning with birdie at the par-5 fifth.

“Yeah, it was a bit of a slow start,” he said. “Hit a nice shot into 2 that went a little long and made a bogey. Missed a very short putt on 3 for birdie from four feet, so it wasn't the start I wanted. Then I hit some really nice shots. I hit a big drive on the par 5, No. 5, and just had a 7-iron in and made birdie there. Then the next hole I hit a good drive and a 9-iron to eight or 10 feet, made that one. Then I made a long one on 7, so then I had some momentum, three in a row.

“Maybe 30-foot putt on No. 7. The par 5, I was on the green with a good look for eagle again on 8, so there was four in a row there. I had a good look on 9, just missed it, and then hit it close on 10, eight feet, hit it six, eight feet on 11.

“So outside of the putt on No. 6 I made from long range, there were a lot of close putts. And then coming home I made the one birdie, made a nice birdie on 16 from an awkward position. I pulled my tee shot a little bit, got behind a tree, hit a very nice recovery shot, but it was a bonus that that putt went in there.”

Weir, 2003 Masters champion, broke through on the PGA Tour Champions with win at the 2021 Insperity Invitational, reduced to 36 holes by heavy rain. He was T4 in the late-May Senior PGA and finished T14 last weekend outside Seattle.

Of his seven birdies in an eight-hole segment beginning at the fifth, “It's fun. You're just thinking birdie, you're just thinking middle of the fairway, get me in the fairway because my iron game is good and the putter's finally starting to heat up for the first time this year. I was kind of chomping at the bit for more holes.”

Harrington, 50, was 2-under through 10 and made four birdies and a bogey coming in.

He came to Endicott on the heels of five top-three finishes in his most recent seven starts, highlighted by a win in the U.S. Senior Open. He tops the PGA Tour Champions in driving distance and birdie average, and sits third in greens in regulation.

“The happiest thing today was I rolled everything at the hole,” he said. “I think that's the most important thing out here. At times you can struggle a bit with your confidence in the putting and I had a day today where they didn't all drop, but I rolled the ball beautifully today. I wish I did that every day.”

Els made six birdies on the front, another at the par-5 12^th, but played 2-over coming home. Last summer, rounds of 68-65-72 left him solo second at En-Joie. He was leader by three through 36 holes on the strength of that bogey-free 65 in Saturday’s second round.

Joey Sindelar, 3-under through eight, shot 70 and will begin third-round play 2-under. He is competing in the Dick’s Open for a 14^th time.

Kevin Sutherland was 5-under through eight in Round 2 and closed with 69. As a rookie, he shot 13-under 59 in Round 2 of the 2014 Dick’s Open, a PGA Tour Champions record (12 birdies, 1 eagle, 18^th-hole bogey).

Opening-round tri-leader Darren Clarke made birdie at the last for a 72 and sits five off the lead.

Just in case? Playoff holes will be (in order) 18-18-9 and repeat as necessary.

Last year’s 12-under, 204 total was highest by a Dick’s Open winner (Cameron Beckman) through the first 14 editions. Five times the champion cracked 16-under 200. The tournament record remains Lonnie Nielsen’s 21-under 195 in 2009.

Round 2 Scores

Mike Weir 67-65 – 132

Padraig Harrington 66-67 – 133

Ernie Els 67-68 – 135

Vijay Singh 65-70 – 135

Gene Sauers 69-67 – 136

Tom Pernice Jr. 68-68 – 136

Jim Furyk 65-71 – 136

Thongchai Jaidee 70-67 – 137

Doug Barron 69-68 – 137

Paul Broadhurst 68-69 – 137

Shane Bertsch 68-69 – 137

Scott McCarron 68-69 – 137

Darren Clarke 65-72 – 137

Bernhard Langer 71-67 – 138

Matt Gogel 70-68 – 138

Ken Tanigawa 69-69 – 138

Corey Pavin 69-69 – 138

Rob Labritz 69-69 – 138

Stuart Appleby 68-70 – 138

Andrew Johnson 68-70 – 138

Alex Cejka 68-70 – 138

Bob Estes 74-65 – 139

Michael Allen 70-69 – 139

Rocco Mediate 70-69 – 139

Brett Quigley 70-69 – 139

Ken Duke 70-69 – 139

David Toms 70-69 – 139

Joe Durant 69-70 – 139

Steve Flesch 69-70 – 139

Tim Petrovic 73-67 – 140

Scott Parel 70-70 – 140

Marco Dawson 69-71 – 140

David McKenzie 70-70 – 140

Y.E. Yang 67-73 – 140

Billy Mayfair 72-69 – 141

Miguel Angel Jiménez 72-69 – 141

Russ Cochran 71-70 – 141

Glen Day 70-71 – 141

Fred Funk 70-71 – 141

Brandt Jobe 67-74 – 141

Duffy Waldorf 66-75 – 141

Wes Short, Jr. 75-67 – 142

Joey Sindelar 72-70 – 142

David Duval 72-70 – 142

Mike Goodes 72-70 – 142

Kent Jones 71-71 – 142

Ricardo Gonzalez 71-71 – 142

Billy Andrade 70-72 – 142

Paul Goydos 69-73 – 142

Mario Tiziani 69-73 – 142

Lee Janzen 76-67 – 143

Cameron Beckman 73-70 143

Colin Montgomerie 72-71 – 143

Chris DiMarco 71-72 – 143

Dicky Pride 71-72 – 143

Kevin Sutherland 75-69 – 144

John Senden 74-70 – 144

David Branshaw 74-70 – 144

Robert Allenby 72-72 – 144

Scott Dunlap 72-72 – 144

Tom Byrum 72-72 – 144

Woody Austin 71-73 – 144

Robert Karlsson 74-71 – 145

Tom Gillis 74-71 – 145

Jeff Sluman 73-72 – 145

Jay Haas 71-74 – 145

Jeff Maggert 71-74 – 145

Steven Alker 71-74 – 145

Olin Browne 74-72 – 146

Roger Rowland 74-72 – 146

Rod Pampling 71-75 – 146

Tim Bogue 75-72 – 147

Jesper Parnevik 72-75 – 147

John Huston 72-75 – 147

David Frost 72-76 – 148

Michael Muehr 75-74 – 149

Tim Herron 73-77 – 150

Round 3 Starting Times

8:25 - David Frost, Michael Muehr, Tim Herron

8:36 - Tim Bogue, Jesper Parnevik, John Huston

8:47 - Olin Browne, Roger Rowland, Rod Pampling

8:58 - Jay Haas, Jeff Maggert, Steven Alker

9:09 - Robert Karlsson, Tom Gillis, Jeff Sluman

9:20 - Scott Dunlap, Tom Byrum, Woody

9:31 - John Senden, David Branshaw, Robert Allenby

9:42 - Chris DiMarco, Dicky Pride, Kevin Sutherland

9:53 - Lee Janzen, Cameron Beckman, Colin Montgomerie

10:04 - Billy Andrade, Paul Goydos, Mario Tiziani

10:15 - Mike Goodes, Kent Jones, Ricardo Gonzalez

10:26 - Wes Short, Jr., Joey Sindelar, David Duval

10:37 - Fred Funk, Brandt Jobe, Duffy Waldorf

10:48 - Miguel Angel Jiménez, Russ Cochran, Glen Day

10:59 - David McKenzie, Y.E. Yang, Billy Mayfair

11:10 - Tim Petrovic, Scott Parel, Marco Dawson

11:21 - David Toms, Joe Durant, Steve Flesch

11:32 - Rocco Mediate, Brett Quigley, Ken Duke

11:43 - Bob Estes, John Daly, Michael Allen

11:54 - Stuart Appleby, Andrew Johnson, Alex Cejka

12:05 - Ken Tanigawa, Corey Pavin, Rob Labritz

12:16 - Darren Clarke, Bernhard Langer, Matt Gogel

12:27 - Paul Broadhurst, Shane Bertsch, Scott McCarron

12:38 - Jim Furyk, Thongchai Jaidee, Doug Barron

12:49 - Vijay Singh, Gene Sauers, Tom Pernice Jr.

1:00 - Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Dick's Open: Mike Weir sets the pace in second round; results