Allianz Championship: Second-Round Notebook

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BOCA RATON, Fla. -- With a one-stroke advantage over Scott Hoch heading into Sunday's final round, Jerry Pate is bidding to become the first player to win back-to-back Champions Tour events since Jay Haas did so last year. Haas won The Principal Charity Classic and Bank of America Championship in successive starts. Pate recently won the Turtle Bay Championship.

Scott Hoch has put together two straight 67s. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

36-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score 1. Jerry Pate 133 -11 2. Scott Hoch 134 -10 T3. Bruce Lietzke 135 -9 T3. John Cook 135 -9 T3. Mark McNulty 135 -9 T3. Bobby Wadkins 135 -9

• Pate has enjoyed success when he has led or shared the lead going into the final round. While he is 0-1 on the Champions Tour (tied for lead at 2004 Commerce Bank Championship/fifth), he won five of six times when he was in that position on the PGA TOUR, including his last five.

• A total of 248 points in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race will be available to the winner of Sunday's tournament. Through two events, Fred Funk leads with 300 points, followed by Jerry Pate (240), Allen Doyle (188), Bernhard Langer (159) and Loren Roberts (144).

• Jerry Pate will be in the final grouping with Scott Hoch and Bruce Lietzke. Pate and Lietzke are brothers-in-law.

• Bruce Lietzke, who trails Jerry Pate by two strokes, will be seeking his first victory on the Champions Tour since winning the 2003 U.S. Senior Open in Toledo. That is a span of 4 years, 7 months and 11 days.

• Lietzke's 7-under-par 65 on Saturday allowed him to jump 27 spots on the leaderboard from a tie for 30th on Friday to a tie for third.

• Don Pooley made the day's biggest move. After shaving nine strokes off his Friday effort (74 to 65), Pooley jumped from a tie for 54th to a tie for 22nd.

• A total of 21 players are within five shots of the lead heading into Sunday's final round.

• Hole No. 18 remains the easiest in this tournament, just as it was a year ago. The scoring average through two rounds if 4.372 (-.628). There have been five eagles and 95 birdies and just seven bogeys. A year ago it was the easiest finishing hole on the Champions Tour. A year ago there were 12 eagles and 121 birdies.

• Hole No. 15 is the most difficult hole with an average score of 4.295 (+.295) followed by No. 14 at 3.237 (+.237). Pate and Hoch are 1 over par on those two holes, while Lietzke is 1 under par.

• Defending champion Mark James shot a 6-under-par 66 and is currently tied for seventh, 23 spots better than he was on Friday.

• Jerry Pate and Tom Purtzer share the lead in greens in regulation (31/36), while Bobby Wadkins leads in driving accuracy (24/28). John Cook has the fewest putts after two rounds (50).