PALM COAST — A man from Down Under went very deep Saturday at the Furyk & Friends.
Mathew Goggin, the 52-year-old from Australia’s island state of Tasmania, reset the bar on this weekend’s birdie-fest with a 10-under 62 to take a one-shot lead over a fellow Aussie — Rod Pampling — into Sunday’s final round at the Hammock Beach Ocean Course.
Just two previous senior tournaments were played at the Ocean Course, in 2007 and ’08, so it’s a rather short history. Nevertheless, Goggin’s 62 is a tournament record.
“Played nicely and made some key putts, and made a nice sand save on 17, which kept my momentum going,” he said. “It’s just the sort of day you have when you shoot 10-under. Everything kind of goes your way.”
It’s been a longer week for Goggin than most others, since he only gained tournament entry by surviving an early-week open qualifier, where only the top three finishers, from a field of nearly 60, earned spots in this week’s Furyk & Friends field.
Just 15 tournament winners in the senior tour’s history have come out of the weekly qualifiers. Coincidentally, the 15th was last year’s Furyk & Friends winner, Tommy Gainey.
The lowest round in @FurykandFriends history 😳
Open qualifier Mathew Goggin’s 10-under 62 has him in the lead at the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach. pic.twitter.com/tLA2QpJ7az
— PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour) October 10, 2026
This is Goggin’s seventh start of 2026, and the sixth time he’s played his way in through a qualifier (he’s missed on a few other occasions, he said). Knowing what a Sunday win would do — give him full-season exemption for 2027 and get him into the upcoming Charles Schwab Cup playoffs — Goggin is suggesting he’ll approach Sunday like he approaches those early-week qualifiers.
Basically start fast and then speed up, especially on rain-softened greens where the pins have no place to hide.
“That’s the thing about the Champions Tour,” Goggin said. “We’ve all been doing this for so long. The pitfalls are getting ahead of yourself.
“The scoring will be great, another 9- or 10-under tomorrow, and if I don’t go out and shoot a good score, I’m not going to win the tournament.”
A hard-earned birdie on the toughest hole on the course for Rod Pampling!
He’ll be just one-shot back of Mathew Goggin heading into Sunday @FurykandFriends. pic.twitter.com/w517H4QKt6
— PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour) October 10, 2026
He and Pampling will have plenty of nearby company on a Sunday when the tee times have been moved earlier for the third straight day (8 to 10:12 a.m.) due to weather concerns.
Vaughn Taylor and Michael Wright share third place at 13 under, while first-round leader Ryan Armour is at 12 under with Paul Goydos and Richard Green.
Steven Alker, with three wins and a runner-up in his past four starts, is at 11 under.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mathew Goggin seems qualified! Saturday 62 nabs Furyk & Friends PGA Tour Champions lead
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