Wiebe sets two-round record in holding SAS lead  CARY, N.C. (AP) -- Mark Wiebe shot a 5-under-par 67 Saturday and set a record in the process to take the lead after two rounds of the SAS Championship.  Mark Wiebe is making his Champions Tour debut. (WireImage)
At 13-under-par 131, Wiebe's two-round total is a tournament record. He's in line to become the first player to win in his Champions Tour debut since Mark McNulty won the 2004 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. If Wiebe holds on to win, he would qualify for the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship in Baltimore next month. "I'm not surprised how I'm playing. I'm surprised how low the scoring is,'' Wiebe said. "We all play to be close to winning on Sunday. I just want a shot.'' In his professional career, Wiebe is winless in three tries with the lead after two rounds. The last time Wiebe was in the final group with the lead was the 2001 Tucson Open, where he finished tied for fifth place. Dick Mast, who started the second round tied for fourth at 5-under, capped a round of 7-under 65 with a 50-foot eagle putt on the par-5 17th hole. He is tied for second place with Dana Quigley, who birdied the par-4 18 and shot 6-under 66. Both are at 12 under. "It was a nice finish but I wanted to birdie the last hole,'' Mast said. "I got some good breaks starting out and it really calmed me down. I'm very happy with my position.'' Massy Kuramoto and Jay Haas are four shots behind. First-round co-leader Boonchu Ruangkit stumbled down the stretch and was in a group with Don Pooley, Des Smyth, Keith Fergus, 2003 SAS champion D.A. Weibring and 2001-02 champ Bruce Lietzke at 8 under. Wiebe came into the SAS Championship playing well on the Nationwide Tour. In his last six Nationwide events, he shot a combined 30-under and had an average score of 69.64. However, he did not have any wins to show for it and earned about $20,000. Wiebe was 4 under on the front 9, including a nice 30-foot putt on the par-4 fifth green. He stayed consistent on the back nine and birdied the par-4 16th with another long putt. Mast opened his round with two birdies and made the turn at 8-under with a birdie on the par-5 seventh. He got to 9-under after 12 and bogeyed the par-4 14 for the second straight day before coming back with two birdies and the eagle in three of the last four holes. |
