Weather: Sunny with high temperatures in the mid-70s and winds from the WNW in the afternoon at 5-15 mph.
Mark Calcavecchia carded a bogey-free 7-under 65 and enjoys a three-stroke advantage over Kenny Perry after 36 holes of the 2011 Regions Tradition, the Champions Tour's first major championship of the year. After making three birdies on the front nine, Calcavecchia opened the back nine with three consecutive birdies and then chipped to three feet at the par-5 17th for his seventh birdie of the day. His 36-hole score of 11-under 133 is the lowest two round total at this event since 2007 and his three-stroke margin is the largest at the Regions Tradition since 2006 when Bobby Wadkins led Lonnie Nielsen by three. After opening with a 71, Perry also shot 65 on Friday, matching Calcavecchia's score as the low round of the day at Shoal Creek.
Round 2 Leaderboard: 1) Mark Calcavecchia/133 (-11); 2) Kenny Perry/136 (-8); T3) Michael Allen & Jay Haas/137 (-7); T5) Tom Lehman & Tom Pernice, Jr. /138 (-6)
Calcavecchia's stat summary through 36 holes of this year's Regions Tradition:
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Calcavecchia has now been a second-round leader/co-leader twice in his brief Champions Tour career. Last year at the 3M Championship in Minnesota, Calcavecchia was tied for the lead with David Frost after two rounds and went on to finish a distant second to Frost.
Saturday will mark the first time Calcavecchia has been in the final grouping on Saturday at a major championship since last year's British Open when he played with eventual champion Louis Oosthuizen at St. Andrews.
36-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win both major champioships previously held at Shoal Creek. At the 1984 PGA Champioship, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins were all tied at 7-under-par 137. At the 1990 PGA Champioship at this venue, Wayne Grady was the halfway leader at 5-under 139. Both Trevino (1984) and Grady (1990) went on to victory.
The last player to lead the Regions Tradition after 36 holes and go on to win was Tom Watson in 2003. Last year, Fred Funk trailed D.A. Weibring by three strokes at the halfway mark in the event and went on to record a one-stroke victory.
36-hole leaders over the last 10 years at the Regions Tradition and eventual winners:
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Both Calcavecchia and Kenny Perry are now in position to earn their first Champions Tour wins this week. In Regions Tradition history, just four players have made this event their first Champions Tour victory -- Jack Nicklaus (1990), Tom Kite (2000), Loren Roberts (2005) and Eduardo Romero (2006).
Only one birdie was made today at the par-4 4th hole (Denis Watson) and just four birdies have been made on the hole through the first two days of the event. There were five eagles made today (Chien Soon Lu/No. 3, Keith Fergus/No. 11, Kenny Perry/No. 17, Olin Browne/No. 11, Bruce Fleisher/No. 11).
| Shoal Creek Course Statistics --- Round 1 vs. Round 2: | ||||||||||||||||||
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Mike Goodes made the day's biggest move jumping 37 places into a T14. Goodes rebounded with a 66 today after posting a 76 in the opening round yesterday.
Don Pooley withdrew before the start of his second round with a bad back. Pooley carded a 5-over 77 in Round 1.