Ernie Els is in a fight to stay at the top of the rankings after his second-round one-under-par 70 dropped him into a share of ninth in the PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, Arizona.
Els, who entered the season finale at the top of the Schwab Cup standings, is projected to drop to second as things stand, and to cede his place to New Zealand’s Steven Alker. Alker was in a share of fourth after the second round, and projected to climb from second on the list.
Els bookended his second round with birdies on one and 18, and dropped a shot with a bogey on the 16th, while Alker’s three-under 68 was bogey-free and lifted him to four-under through the halfway mark of the championship. That was one clear of Els
At the top of the leaderboard, Stewart Cink stayed in the lead with a five-under-par 66 lifting him to 12-under. He was three clear of the ageless Bernhard Langer of Germany, who shot a seven-under 64 at the age of 67.
Retief Goosen had a two-under-par 69 in the second round to be in a share of 16th at one-under-par.
