Round 2 Notebook: U.S. Senior Open

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Jul. 31, 2010
By Phil Stambaugh, PGA TOUR Staff

36-Hole Leaderboard: 1 -- Bernhard Langer (-3/137); T2 -- Tommy Armour III (-1/139), John Cook (-1/139), Jeff Roth (-1/139); T5 -- Michael Allen (E/140), Fred Couples (E/140), Loren Roberts (E/140), Tom Watson (E/140)

• Friday's Weather: There was a fog delay early in the morning. Play was suspended at 7:48 a.m. and resumed at 10:00 a.m. Once the fog lifted, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-70s and NW winds at 5-10 mph.

• Seven of the top-10 names on the 36-hole U.S. Senior Open leaderboard this year have won a major championship on either the PGA TOUR, the Champions Tour or both.

• Here's a look at Bernhard Langer's TOUR career record when leading/co-leading at the halfway point in 72-hole events--

Champions Tour:

Year/Event 36-Hole Score Margin Eventual Finish
2008 JELD-WEN Tradition 68-66--134 (-10) tie T7
2010 Senior British Open 67-71--138 (-4) tie Win
2010 U.S. Senior Open 69-68--137 (-3) +2 ---

PGA TOUR:

Year/Event 36-Hole Score Margin Eventual Finish
1987 Hawaiian Open 69-65--134 (-10) tie T21
1987 Doral-Ryder Open 65-72--137 (-7) tie T22
1987 Honda Classic 70-67--137 (-7) +2 T2
1987 Canon Sammy Davis Jr. 65-65--130 (-12) +2 T8
1993 MCI Heritage Classic 69-65--134 (-8) tie T16

• Bernhard Langer's two-shot lead at Sahalee this year is one stroke shy of the largest margin in U.S. Senior Open history after 36 holes. Tom Watson (2007), Ed Dougherty (1999), Dave Stockton (1992), Billy Casper (1988) and Dale Douglass (1986) all were three strokes in front at the halfway point. Of that group, only Douglass went on to win in that particular year. Only six times in the previous 30 U.S. Senior Open Championships has the 36-hole leader/co-leader gone on to win. Here's a chart of how 36-hole leaders/co-leaders have done since 1997 in the U.S. Senior Open:

Year Player(s) Score Margin Finish
2009 Tim Jackson (a) 133 (-11) +1 T11th
2008 Fred Funk 134 (-6) +2 2nd
2007 Tom Watson 136 (-8) +3 4th
2006 Tom Watson 136 (-4) +1 2nd
2005 Tom Watson, Loren Roberts, Craig Stadler 133 (-9) tied T5th, T2nd, T7th
2004 Peter Jacobsen, Craig Stadler 135 (-7) tied 1st, T7th
2003 Vicente Fernandez 137 (-5) +1 3rd
2002 Walter Hall 135 (-7) +1 T11th
2001 Isao Aoki 139 (-1) +1 T2nd
2000 Bruce Fleisher 133 (-9) +1 2nd
1999 Ed Dougherty 137 (-7) +3 2nd
1998 Raymond Floyd 140 (-2) +2 3rd
1997 Kermit Zarley 138 (-2) +1 T21st

• Langer's 3-under-par 137 total is the highest leading score to par since Isao Aoki led in 2001 at Salem Country Club with a 36-hole total of 1-under 139. Langer claimed his first senior major last week at the Senior British Open at Carnoustie and is bidding to become the first player to claim consecutive majors on the Champions Tour since 2003 when Tom Watson won the Senior British Open at Turnberry, Scotland and then claimed the JELD-WEN Tradition near Portland, Oregon.

• Jeff Roth, one of Michigan PGA Section's finest players in the late '80s/early '90s, carded the round of the day, a 4-under 66, and vaulted from T29 into a T2. Bruce Fleisher, the 2001 U.S. Senior Open champion, made the biggest move up on Friday. Fleisher improved his first-round score by eight strokes with a 1-under 69 today and moved froma T85 into a T29 after 36 holes.

• Only four players are under par after 36 holes of this year's U.S. Senior Open. For the second consecutive day, there were eight rounds under par. Just three players have been par/better for each of the first two rounds (Fred Couples, Tom Watson) and Bernhard Langer is the only player with both rounds in the 60s.

• Field scoring averages through 36 Holes of the U.S. Senior Open since 1998:

Year Player(s) Score Margin Finish
2009 Tim Jackson (a) 133 (-11) +1 T11th
2008 Fred Funk 134 (-6) +2 2nd
2007 Tom Watson 136 (-8) +3 4th
2006 Tom Watson 136 (-4) +1 2nd
2005 Tom Watson, Loren Roberts, Craig Stadler 133 (-9) tied T5th, T2nd, T7th
2004 Peter Jacobsen, Craig Stadler 135 (-7) tied 1st, T7th
2003 Vicente Fernandez 137 (-5) +1 3rd
2002 Walter Hall 135 (-7) +1 T11th
2001 Isao Aoki 139 (-1) +1 T2nd
2000 Bruce Fleisher 133 (-9) +1 2nd
1999 Ed Dougherty 137 (-7) +3 2nd
1998 Raymond Floyd 140 (-2) +2 3rd
1997 Kermit Zarley 138 (-2) +1 T21st

• A total of 69 players (66 professionals, 3 amateurs) from a starting field of 156 made the cut (low-60 and ties) at 10 -- over 150, the highest to par since 1998 at Riviera CC when the cut fell at 12-over 154. Last year at Crooked Stick GC, 62 players made the 36-hole cut at 3-over-par 147.

• The 443-yard, par-4, 8th hole at Sahalee has played as the toughest for the first two days of the 2010 U.S. Senior Open. The hole has played to a cumulative stroke average of 4.678, yielding just six total birdies.

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