Steve Allan holds top spot heading into final round of Dick’s Open

Madison Hricik
| Special to the Press & Sun Bulletin

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — One of the biggest strategies for the pro golfers in the Dick’s Open is to aim for a total score of roughly 12-under-par or more.

Steve Allan achieved that marker by the end of Day 2. Though not the career-best marker from his first outing, Allan was 3-under-par in his second go around the En-Joie Golf Course to keep him in sole possession of first place heading into the final round of the tournament.

Allan made four birdies, including a putt on 18 that put him into first place to end the day. He also recorded his first bogey of the tournament on 17.

“It’s very rare to go that many holes without a bogey,” Allan said. “So I knew one was coming. It’s just hopefully not too many tomorrow.”

But it was Boo Weekley’s 8-under-par performance that shook up the rest of the leaderboard. Starting the day tied for 20th, Weekley made eight birdies in his second trip around the course, catapulting him to second place. He notched three straight birdies at holes 3 through 5 and had back-to-back birdies twice in the back nine.

“Today I hit a little close and, you know, made the putts,” Weekley said. “I mean, that’s the, you know, that’s the only difference out here between any of us, who’s going to make the most putts? And today, I made them.

Weekley reached the top of the leaderboard twice throughout the afternoon, and nearly helped a tied ranking with Allan until the Australian’s clutch put at 18.

Jason Caron held steady at third place through his second round, teeing off with the second-to-last group and finishing 10-under-par.

Caron has never won an open, and his performance at the Dick’s Open has given him one of the best opportunities he’s had since joining the PGA Tour Champions less than two years ago. Caron said he’s felt very comfortable on the course, and that he’s been able to make consistent putts despite the speed of the greens.

“I’m just gonna just do what I’ve been doing, which is, you know, just trying to control what I can do and not what everyone else does,” Caron said. “Playing the last group is always good because it kind of gets you down the line, maybe some opportunities that may come up and be ready for it. So, you know, I’m just going to try my best and see what happens.”

Allan, Weekley and Caron dealt with a 45-minute weather delay while playing the back nine, halting the momentum they had on the course. The delay resulted in the two of them having their first bogeys of the tournament, but the two quickly found a groove once again.

“To be honest, I knew I was probably going to make a bogey on my first one, and then I didn’t hit a great shot in the next hole,” Caron said. “

The final round tees off at 8:55 a.m., with players starting at holes 1 and 10 to combat incoming weather. Allan, Weekley and Caron tee off at 10:55 a.m.

Rochester native Jeff Sluman doubled down on his opening day performance, putting together another 4-under-par round to stay inside the top 10. Sluman sits in a tie for seventh with six other golfers, including Billy Mayfair and Notah Begay III, who both jumped 24 spots after Saturday.

Doug Barron, who began the day in second place, finished one stroke over par that led to an 18-place drop in the standings. Jerry Kelly was also standing in the top three after the first round and dropped 28 places to T31, finishing the day 2-over-par.

All three golfers sitting in the top three haven’t won a Champions event in their career — Allan picked up his first win just weeks ago. Now, Allan will have a chance to become the first wire-to-wire champion in tournament history.

“It’s always nice when you have a chance,” Allan said. “It doesn’t happen that often for me anyway.”