Steve Allan, Tag Ridings weren't in Galleri Classic field last weekend; now either could win
Steve Allan and Tag Ridings, two players who didn't know last weekend if they would even be in the field of the Galleri Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino, will find themselves Sunday looking for their biggest senior golf moment by winning the tournament.
Allan, with no wins in his previous 27 PGA Tour Champions starts, fired a 7-under 65 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage on Saturday. That puts Allan at 10-under 134 for 36 holes, one shot ahead of Ridings. In just his second PGA Tour Champions event, Ridings tied the tournament single-round scoring record with a 9-under 63 to vault up the leaderboard.
Steve Allan watches as his eagle putt on the 18th hole just misses the on the 18th hole during the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 29, 2025. Allan enters the final day with a one shot lead.
The low scoring was in part because the strong winds that hit the Dinah Shore Course in Friday's first round weren't as gusty Saturday morning and actually disappeared as the round moved on.
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'We got pretty lucky today. It was windy at the start and it kind of eased,' said Allan. 'A couple of gusts but not too bad. I think you just have to be patient. You just have to know everyone is struggling with it. It's hard.'
Allan was out of the field when last weekend started as the first alternate to the field. But when Steve Stricker withdrew from the event with an ailing back, Allan found himself in the tournament.
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'I wasn't sure I was going to get in. I think when I got down to first (alternate), I was fairly confident, but you never know,' Allan said. 'I actually got the news on Saturday, so I kind of knew a little bit earlier, so I had a bit of time to sort of prepare here.'
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Ridings' status for the Galleri Classic was more perilous. He was part of Tuesday's qualifying tournament at Bermuda Dunes Country Club for the event, where three spots in the main field were available. Ridings fired an 8-under 64 to win the qualifier and make his way into the field.
Tag Ridings spins his club after hitting a good tee shot on the par-3 17th hole during the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 29, 2025.
'(The qualifier) helps a lot. Even just playing Tucson (The Cologuard Classic earlier this month), where conditions weren't easy, either, I played okay and finished 30th,' Ridings said. 'That helped give me some confidence, as well. It's a big boost of confidence, but more than confidence out here, you need status. I'm here to do something good tomorrow and work that out.'
Three players, reigning PGA Tour Champions player of the year Steven Alker, Jason Caron and first-round co-leader Cameron Percy, are tied for third at 8 under entering Sunday's final round. Alker fired 65 to move into contention at a tournament where he has finished second each of the last two years. Caron managed a 68, while Percy shot 69.
Cameron Percy tees off on five during the second round of The Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Saturday, March 29, 2025.
Billy Mayfair follows alone in sixth place at 7 under and six players, including first-round co-leader Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh and Miguel Angel Jimenez, are all at 6 under.
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Ridings had the round of the day with his 63, tying the course record for the event set last year by Ricardo Gonzalez. Ridings' round included nine birdies and put him in the lead for much of the afternoon.
'I made birdie on 1 and did the right thing and birdied 2, which was a very short par 5, and I can't remember the rest of it all,' Ridings said. 'But I made some nice bombs like around the middle of the front nine, 7 and 8 I think, I made some 25-foot putts that were just bonuses, and birdied 9.'
Steve Allan strangles his driver as he tries to persuade his tee shot to stay in the fairway on the 18th hole during the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 29, 2025.
Riding continued with four more birdies on the back nine and had a putt for a birdie on the par-5 18th but missed that 10-footer to settle for 63.
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Playing eight groups behind Ridings, Allan began crawling up the leaderboard with four birdies in a five-hole stretch starting on the par-3 eighth hole. The last of those birdies on the par-4 12th tied Allan for the lead, with players like Caron, Alker and Mayfair jockeying for position. Alker finally grabbed the solo lead by reaching the island green on the par-5 18th in two and two-putting for his seven birdies of the day. That put Allan in a rare position of sleeping on the lead overnight in a pro tournament.
'I had a couple of outside chances last year to win out here, and I didn't play particularly well on the last day,' Allan said. 'But hung in there a couple of times, Dick's (Sporting Goods) and then in Michigan at the Ally, and Stewart Cink played so good early that I was kind of out of it.
Tag Ridings celebrates a birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole during the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 29, 2025.
'So it's been a while, but it's fun, and the more you get up there, the more you get comfortable with it,' Allan added. 'It was nice to play well today, and wasn't quite in the last group, but it was good.'
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Like Allan, Ridings is soaking up the experience of playing well, even taking something from playing in a threesome Saturday with World Golf Hall of Famers Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. Riding is also well aware that a big day Sunday could change his status for the rest of 2025 on the senior tour.
'Every step of the ladder is a big deal,' said Ridings, who hasn't played full time on the PGA Tour since 2017 and who turned 50 last September. 'That comes into your game plan.'
Allan, Ridings and Alker will play in the final threesome at 10:11 a.m. Sunday, when desert winds are expected to get stronger again.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Steve Allan, Tag Ridings share Galleri Classic lead with 18 holes to play
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