Ernie Els, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Brett Quigley set pace at Dick’s Open

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Does the big man with the dreamy swing close the deal this time around at En-Joie Golf Course?

Ernie Els is positioned to do just that as a three-way shareholder of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open’s 36-hole lead.

Participants on Saturday dodged a second day of suspect weather forecasts, and once again Sunday starting-time concessions will be made in anticipation of further unpleasantness.

Els and fellow leaders Miguel Angel Jimenez and Brett Quigley, 12 under apiece, are to convene on the first tee at 10:20 a.m., just more than two hours after the earliest starters in a third day of double-tee getaways. That is several hours before the tournament’s original blueprint scripted.

Those concerns aside: How favorable were the conditions for Round 2, coupled with competitors’ skill level? The pace-setting trio combined to make 23 birdies and – get this – zero bogeys.

Els, 53, and winner of the most recent of his three PGA Tour Champions events in March:

• In 2021 was Dick’s Open leader by three through 36 holes and by two at the turn Sunday. He shot 72 to take second.
• Last summer, he was three back of leader Mike Weir through 36 holes and shot 73 Sunday to share 15^th.

Saturday at En-Joie, he crammed four of his seven birdies into a four-hole segment concluding with the par-5 12^th. The man with eight top-10s in 11 events this season and tour leader in par-3 scoring average has clearly got it together.

“I scrambled around a bit on the front nine, I didn’t quite have my swing going there, but up-and-downed the ball and made some birdies,” he said. “Then I found it, made some birdies early on the back nine, but then I kind of was around the hole.”

As for aspects of the game he’d choose to be spot-on Sunday?

“I’ll pick two, driving and putting, and always the putter,” he said. “I think you’re going to have to make some putts. I think the scores are going to be quite low. The course is in fabulous condition. Depends on the weather, but I think the guys are going to score low, so you’re going to have to have the putter working and you’ve got to put it in play to attack the flags.”

Similarly fabulous Saturday was Jimenez, who rounded out a back-side 31 with birdie at the last. At age 59, he is a 13-time PGA Tour Champions winner to go with 14 runner-up finishes (56 top 5s) and was a three-time winner in 2022.

His 64 matches his low round of the season and marks his third 8-under 64 in his last six rounds…