JELD-WEN Tradition: Second-round notebook

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SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Three World Golf Hall of Famers are among the top seven on the leaderboard through 36 holes of the 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition. Bernhard Langer (tied for first), Tom Watson (sixth) and Hale Irwin (tied for seventh) have combined to win 13 major championships on the PGA TOUR.

Tim Simpson is in the best 36-hole position of his Champions Tour career. (Badz/PGA TOUR)

Inside the Numbers

36-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score T1. Tim Simpson 134 -10 T1. Bernhard Langer 134 -10 T3. Jay Haas 135 -9 T3. Fred Funk 135 -9 T3. Mike Goodes 135 -9 6. Tom Watson 136 -8 T7. Hale Irwin 137 -7 T7. Gene Jones 137 -7 T7. Mark Wiebe 137 -7 T10. David Eger 138 -6 T10. Bobby Wadkins 138 -6 T10. Scott Hoch 138 -6

• For the first time in his Champions Tour career, Bernhard Langer is a co-leader through 36 holes. On three other occasions, Langer has held sole possession of the lead through 36 holes.

• Until Friday, Tim Simpson has never been in this position through two rounds of a Champions Tour event. Friday marked the first time since 2002 that there have been co-leaders through 36 holes of the JELD-WEN Tradition. At that event in Arizona, Bob Eastwood, Bob Gilder and Jim Thorpe shared the top spot at 7-under 137 and Thorpe eventually went on to win in a playoff.

• Bernhard Langer's other leads in his Champions Tour career through 36 holes came at the 2007 Administaff Small Business Classic (went on to win), the 2008 Toshiba Classic (won in playoff) and 2008 Ginn Championship (won).

• The last player to lead after 36 holes and win this event was Tom Watson in 2003.

• Tom Watson's 8-under 64 Friday set the 18-hole tournament record on the Crosswater Course and matched the course record set by Pablo Martin of Oklahoma State at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Watson and Bernhard Langer, playing in the same grouping, both made nine birdies and had a best-ball score of 14 under.

• Watson's round was his best of the 2008 campaign and was his lowest score in the JELD-WEN Tradition since posting a 62 in the second round in 2003 at The Reserve Golf and Country Club near Portland. Langer's score Friday matched his lowest in a major on the Champions Tour (66-Rd. 4, U.S. Senior Open).

• With double Charles Schwab Cup points on the line, this year's JELD-WEN Tradition could prove to be quite a shootout on the weekend between Bernhard Langer (1,905) and Jay Haas (1,797), the two players with the most points in the 2008 season-long race. Both players will be in the final grouping Saturday.

• Langer is trying to win his first Champions Tour major while Haas, this year's Senior PGA Championship winner, is attempting to become the first player since Tom Watson in 2003 to win a pair of majors in the same season.

• Jay Haas is the only player in the field who is bogey-free after 36 holes and has made just one bogey in his last 44 holes going back to his last start at the U.S. Senior Open Championship. Haas has now gone 42 consecutive holes at Crosswater without making a bogey.

• Hale Irwin, the Champions Tour's all-time victory leader with 45 career titles, stands tied for seventh at 7-under 137 through 36 holes of the JELD-WEN Tradition, his second highest position after two rounds on the Champions Tour this year. Irwin was tied for sixth through 36 holes of the 3M Championship last month and eventually finished 12th in the 54-hole near Minneapolis, his best effort of the 2008 season.

• Eduardo Romero, the 2008 U.S. Senior Open champion, made the biggest move of any player in the field. Romero's 7-under 65 Friday was nine strokes better than Thursday and vaulted him up 39 spots into a tie for 13th through 36 holes.

• Friday's scoring average was 71.090 compared to 72.304 on Friday last year. Thursday's stroke average was 71.254 compared to 72.595 on Thursday last year. Last year after two rounds there were 31 players under par. After two rounds this year, 40 of the 67 players in the field are under par.

• While No. 18 was the most difficult on Thursday with an average of 4.194 (+.194), No. 9 moved to the fore Friday with an average of 4.373 (+.373) on Friday. No. 2 remains the easiest through two rounds with an average score of 4.619 (-.381).

• In the previous three Champions Tour major championships this year, only Bruce Vaughan (Senior British Open) held the halfway lead and went on to win.

• Dave Eichelberger has hit 27 of 28 fairways to lead all players in that category. ... Mike Goodes, Scott Simpson and Tim Simpson have all hit 30 of 36 greens in regulation, the best mark at this week's event. ... Mike McCullough has the lowest average number of putts with 24 per round through two days of play. ... Massy Kuramoto did not have a three-putt again Friday and now has gone 272 consecutive holes without a three-putt green, the longest current streak on the Champions Tour.