Mario Tiziani fired a bogey-free, 8-under-par 63 and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson shot a 7-under 64 on Saturday to share the second-round lead at the Stifel Charity Classic in St. Louis.
Tiziani, competing in his 98th Champions Tour event, and Stenson, a Champions Tour rookie in his eighth event, are both at 9-under 133 entering Sunday, chasing what would be their first career Champions Tour titles.
The pair are both projected to make sizable leaps in the Charles Schwab Cup standings (Tiziani to 13th and Stenson to 16th) should either finish off the victory. Stenson entered the event two spots outside the top 54 who will advance to next week’s Simmons Bank Championship.
Tiziani, 56, surged from a tie for 31st with a bogey-free, 8-under 63 at Norwood Hills Country Club, setting a tournament record for the second round. He birdied three holes on the front nine and five more on the back nine, including Nos. 15, 16 and 18.
“I had a couple of key up-and-downs honestly that kept the round going, two of them that I can think of,” Tiziani said after his round. “I hit a number of good shots, some were really close. Yeah, it was just a good day, I kind of did everything well. I wouldn’t say it was unbelievable, but I had a lot of chances and I hit some close ones, too.”
Stenson, 50, began the day at 2 under before delivering a 7-under round, pairing eight birdies with one bogey. He followed up the one error on No. 4 with three birdies on the following four holes.
“I still feel like I leave some shots on the short game and the swing is not really where I want it to be at times, but it’s still good enough to hit a lot of good shots and keep it in play for the most part and don’t put myself in too much trouble,” said Stenson, a six-time PGA Tour winner who captured The Open Championship in 2016. “I feel like I’ve just been committing to my processes, and I’ve got no stress, I’ve got no pressure really on anything, so I just want to try and improve and get back closer to where I know I can be.”
Shane Bertsch (66) and Scott Parel (66) are tied for third, one stroke back at 8 under. New Zealand’s Steven Alker (67), Australia’s Mark Hensby (70) and Round 1 leader Darren Clarke (71) of Northern Ireland are tied for fifth at 7 under.