Montgomerie, Clarke, Austin share 36-hole lead at SAS Championship

Second Round Notes

Darren Clarke, 69-66 – 135 (-9)

• Clarke birdied four of his last five holes and is one of three co-leaders after a second-round 66. It marks just the second time this season he has opened with consecutive rounds in the 60s (T9/Charles Schwab Series at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge).
• This marks the first time Clarke has led/co-led after any round on PGA TOUR Champions. Clarke will play in Sunday’s final group for the second time this season. He was T3 after a second-round 62 at the Sanford International, and he went on to finish T12 after a final-round 70.
• Clarke is looking for his first win since the 2011 Open Championship. A win on Sunday would be his first in 126 professional starts (40 PGA TOUR, 37 PGA TOUR Champions, 49 European Tour; WGCs and majors are counted as PGA TOUR starts only) and break a winless streak of 9 years, 2 months, 24 days.

Colin Montgomerie, 68-67 – 135 (-9)

• Sunday will be the 10th time Montgomerie starts the final round as a leader/co-leader, and first since the 2018 Mitsubishi Electric Classic. He is 4-for-9 in converting those leads/co-leads into victories.
• At the 2017 SAS Championship, Montgomerie was part of a three-way tie for the lead at 8-under through 36 holes. He closed with an 8-under 64 and won by three.
• Montgomerie has seven wins on PGA TOUR Champions, the most recent being a playoff victory over Bernhard Langer at the 2019 Invesco QQQ Championship. That was also the last time Montgomerie played in Sunday’s final group.
• His best finish this season was a T3 at the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, and he’s currently 20th in the Charles Schwab Cup.

Woody Austin, 66-69 – 135 (-9)

• The 18-hole leader was 1-over for the day through 11, and he closed with birdies on four of his last five holes to post a second-round 69.
• This is the second straight year Austin is a 36-hole co-leader at the SAS Championship. Last year, he closed with a 1-under 71 and finished T3.
• Sunday will be the third time he’ll start the final round as a leader/co-leader and the second time this season. He opened with rounds of 65-68 and led by one at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, and he finished T9 after a final-round 73.

Bernhard Langer, 70-66 – 136 (-8)

• If Langer wins Sunday, the SAS Championship would be the sixth tournament he has won at least three times: Insperity Invitational (4), The Senior Open Championship (4), Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (3), Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai (3), Chubb Classic (3).
• With a win, he would become the second-oldest winner on Tour (63 years, 1 month, 14 days) and the oldest winner of an individual event. Scott Hoch (63 years, 5 months, 4 days) and Tom Pernice Jr. teamed up and won the 2019 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge.
• Langer has won eight times since turning 60 in 2017.
• A win on Sunday would extend his streak to nine straight multi-win seasons, the second-longest streak in Tour history (11/Hale Irwin).

Other Notes

• Vijay Singh holed a 50-degree wedge for eagle on the 18th hole to cap off a 6-under 66. It was his second eagle of the day (par-5 No. 7) and he is T4 at 8-under.
• David Toms carded a 5-under 67 and is also T4, and he will play in Sunday’s penultimate group with Singh and Langer. Toms has top-10s in each of his first three starts at the SAS Championship, including a T3 last year, and all 11 of his rounds at Prestonwood Country Club have been under par (68.73 average).
• Jim Furyk is T9 at 6-under, three shots behind the leaders after a second-round 68. After wins at The Ally Challenge and PURE Insurance Championship, Furyk is seeking to become the first player to win his first three starts on any of the six PGA TOUR-sanctioned tours.
• Defending champion Jerry Kelly is T15 at 5-under after a second-round 67. It was his 23rd straight round of par or better, which matches the longest streak of his PGA TOUR Champions career.
• Steve Flesch carded the day’s best score, a 7-under 65, and he improved from T67 to T22.
• Scott McCarron (ankle) withdrew during the second round.