George McNeill fired a 4-under 68 to take a two-shot U.S. Senior Open lead at Scioto, with Padraig Harrington chasing close behind.
George McNeill came to the U.S. Senior Open hoping to survive the cut. Now he’s the guy everyone’s chasing.
McNeill delivered the best round of the week Friday at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, carding a 4-under 68 to reach 6-under 134 and take a two-shot lead into the weekend.
Not bad for a 50-year-old PGA TOUR Champions rookie whose original plan was simply to stick around past Friday.
Playing on the demanding layout made famous by Jack Nicklaus, McNeill looked steady, confident and opportunistic.
He closed his round in style, dropping a long birdie putt that gave him separation from a dangerous leaderboard and sent him into Saturday with real control of the championship.
Defending champion Padraig Harrington is right behind him after a sharp 67 moved him into second place.
Harrington hasn’t fully unleashed his approach game yet, but that may be the scariest part for everyone else.
He’s already in position, and he sounds like a player who knows there’s another gear available.
Behind them, Charlie Wi and Stewart Cink sit three shots off the lead after matching 70s.
Miguel Angel Jimenez also climbed into that group at 3-under after a 68.
Cink’s round could’ve gone sideways in a hurry. He was 3 over on the day through 14 holes before catching fire late with three birdies over his final four holes.
For a player chasing his third senior major of the season, that finish may have saved more than just a scorecard. It kept him firmly in the hunt.
Wi had to battle too. A double bogey at No. 2 put him on the defensive early, but he answered with four birdies over his next 10 holes before giving one back at the 16th.
Scioto is only getting tougher.
The greens are firming up, the misses are becoming more expensive, and the wrong side of the hole can turn a simple par attempt into a survival mission.
That makes McNeill’s clean, composed charge even more impressive. He owns two PGA TOUR wins and already has two top-five finishes this season on PGA TOUR Champions, including a runner-up showing at the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational.
Now he’s trying to become the 13th player to win the U.S. Senior Open in his debut.
Big names missed the cut at 4-over, including David Toms, Olin Browne, Justin Leonard and Davis Love III.
McNeill came to Scioto looking for the weekend. He found the lead instead.
