DES MOINES, Iowa -- Getting off to a good start is over-rated. At least, that's the way Tim Herron has made it look so far in the Principal Charity Classic.
On Friday, the 51-year-old former Minnesota State Amateur champion began the tournament by making a bogey on the first hole at Wakonda Club, but he played the remaining 17 holes in 6 under par for an opening 67. On Saturday, Herron started the back side by flairing his tee shot into the right rough at the 10th hole, but he made a birdie from there and went on to shoot 30 for the nine.
That gave him a 9-under 63 for his second round, and he will go into the final round on Sunday with a four-shot lead.
Shane Bertsch and Rod Pampling have matched each other with 67's both days, and are tied for second at 134. Doug Barron is alone in fourth at 135, after a second-round 69.
"On 10, I got a good break," Herron said after signing for his 63. "I had a jumpy lie and hit a good shot. I saw that putt feed a ball and a half outside the left, and just fed it in there. Same with the next hole."
Herron played for the victorious U.S. side in the 1993 Walker Cup Matches at Interlachen, then turned professional. In 1996, he joined the PGA Tour and won for first time that year, at the Honda Classic. He won three more times and has made more than $2 million in his career. But his most recent victory was the 2006 Bank of America Colonial Invitational.
He turned 50 in February of 2020, and has played in 19 events on the PGA Tour Champions, but his best finish so far has been a tie for 12th last fall at the Sanford International.
"I haven't been in this situation for probably a decade," he conceded. "Just go out and play each hole at a time. These guys are good. Someone else can shoot 9 under; so I've got to still kind of put the pedal down in the right spots. If I hit the fairway, I've got to go at the pin."
Having bogeyed No. 1 the day before, Herron birdied the 431-yard, par-4 first hole Saturday, and made two more birdies at the fourth (421 yards, par 4) and fifth (549, par 5). He parred the last four holes on the front side, but birdied the first three holes on the back, the 441-yard, par-4 10th, 408-yard, par-4 11th and 361-yard, par-4 12th.
The 13th at Wakonda is a 529-yard par 5. Herron didn't birdie it, but he birdied the other par 5 on the inward nine, the 15th (510 yards) and the 16th (430, par 4). He capped the round off with Birdie No. 9 at the 311-yard, par-4 18th hole.
"I got some really good breaks, and I had some really good chances that I missed," he said. "But I made some great putts. This is the most putts I've made in a long time. Hopefully, I can keep it going, and keep the putting stroke smooth."
This is the first time Herron has played at Wakonda, but his family has Iowa connections. His grandfather Carson Lee Herron lived in Sioux City during the 1920's. In 1924, he finished second in the Iowa State Amateur, and he won the tournament three years later, in 1927. Carson Lee then moved to Minnesota, and after finiishing second to Pat Sawyer in the Minnesota State Am in 1932, he then won the title a year later, in 1933.
Like grandfather, like grandson. In 1991, Tim Herron and John Harris tied for second behind Jim Scheller in the Minnesota State Am. One year later, Herron won the '92 State Am.
Principal Charity Classic
At Wakonda Club
Par 72
Des Moines, Iowa
Second-round results
1. Tim Herron 67-63--130
T2. Shane Bertsch 67-67--134
T2. Rod Pampling 67-67--134
4. Doug Barron 66-69--135
T5. Mike Weir 70-66--136
T5. Tom Gillis 67-69--136
T5. Thongchai Jaidee 65-71--136
T5. Dicky Pride 66-70--136
T26. Tom Lehman 70-71--141
T57. Cameron Beckman 71-74--145
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