Haas in position for 19th career win

RICHMOND, Va. -- Jay Haas shot a 7-under 65 -- missing his age by a stroke -- to take a two-shot lead Saturday in the PGA TOUR Champions' playoff-opening Dominion Energy Charity Classic.

"While I'm hopeful every day and I've been playing okay, the last couple weeks have not been very good, but this week has been much better," said Haas. "I love this golf course and it looks good to my eye. Most of the holes look like I'm going to hit a good shot, so I enjoy playing here."

Trying to become the oldest winner in tour history, the 64-year-old Haas birdied the par-5 16th and 18th holes to get to 11-under 133 on The Country Club of Virginia's James River Course.

Mike Fetchick set the age record of 63 years to the day in the 1985 Hilton Head event. Haas is second on the list, taking the 2016 Toshiba Classic at 62 years, 10 months, 7 days for his 18th senior title.

Stephen Ames and Scott Dunlap were tied for second. Ames had a 67, and Dunlap shot 68.

Defending champion Bernhard Langer had a 66 to join Billy Mayfair (67) and Woody Austin (68) at 9 under. Langer won the SAS Championship last week in North Carolina to take the season points lead. The 61-year-old German star has two victories this year and 38 overall on the 50-and-over tour.

The top 72 players qualified for the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs opener. The top 54 on Sunday will get spots next week in the Invesco QQQ Championship in Thousand Oaks, California, and the top 36 after that will advance to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, second in the standings, was tied for 23rd at 4 under after a 71.

--

Notes compiled by PGA TOUR Champions media members Laura Vescovi and Chris Richards.

Jay Haas, 68-65 – 133 (-11)Charles Schwab Cup Standings – Start: 49th / Projected: 16th

• The 7-under 65 matches the best round of the season for Haas. At the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, all eight of his rounds have been under par (68.88 average).
• He has played his last 32 holes bogey free, as his only bogey of the tournament was on No. 4 in the first round.
• Haas is the oldest player in the field (64 years, 10 months, 19 days), and if he wins Sunday, he would be the oldest winner in PGA TOUR Champions history. The record is currently held by Mike Fetchick, who won the 1985 Hilton Head Seniors Invitational on his 63rd birthday.
• Haas won the 2016 Toshiba Classic and is the Tour’s second-oldest winner (62 years, 10 months, 7 days).
• The two-time Charles Schwab Cup winner (2006, 2008) has 18 career wins, tied for 14th most in Tour history.
• Entering this week, he has won 9 of 15 tournaments in which he has started the final round as a leader/co-leader. Most recently, he was a second-round co-leader at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in April; he carded a final-round 71 and finished fourth.
• He has two top-10s and seven top-25 finishes in 19 starts this season. His last top-10 was a tie for 10th at the American Family Insurance Championship in June.

Second-Round Lead Notes

• So far this year, a leader/co-leader heading into the final round has gone on to win 10 out of 24 tournaments.
• A second-round leader/co-leader has won each of the first two Dominion Energy Charity Classics. Last year, Bernhard Langer led by three after rounds of 67-63, and he closed with a 2-under 70 to win by one.

Stephen Ames, 68-67 – 135 (-9)

Charles Schwab Cup Standings – Start: 40th / Projected: 24th

• Ames is T2 at 9-under after posting a bogey-free 67, his best score in eight rounds at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
• Ames will start the final round among the top-two for the second time this season. He was T2 through 54 holes at The Senior Open Championship, and he finished T3 after a final-round 69. It was his best finish of the season and best finish in 16 starts in senior majors.
• Ames will play in Sunday’s final group for the first time since he converted a second-round lead into a win at the 2017 Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

Scott Dunlap, 67-68 – 135 (-9)

Charles Schwab Cup Standings – Start: 29th / Projected: 19th

• Dunlap is T2 at 9-under after a second-round 68. It was his ninth consecutive round under par, extending his longest streak of the season.
• Dunlap is coming off back-to-back top-10s (T9/PURE Insurance Championship, T7/SAS Championship). Should he finish in the top-10 this week, it would mark the first time he’s had three straight top-10s since he had a streak of four in 2015.
• He has finished in the top 25 of the final Charles Schwab Cup standings each of his four full seasons on Tour. His lone victory came at the 2014 Boeing Classic.

Bernhard Langer, 70-66 – 136 (-8)

Charles Schwab Cup Standings – Start: 1st / Projected: 1st

• A win on Sunday would be…
  • His 39th victory in his 231st start on PGA TOUR Champions.
  • His sixth win at age 60 or older (age on Sunday: 61 years, 1 month, 24 days).
  • The 10th tournament he has won multiple times.
  • The fifth time he has won consecutive starts:
    • 2009 Triton Financial Classic, 3M Championship
    • 2010 The Senior Open Championship, U.S. Senior Open
    • 2017 Regions Tradition, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
    • 2017 Dominion Energy Charity Classic, Invesco QQQ Championship
  • The fifth time he successfully defends a title:
    • Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (2014, 2015, 2016)
    • Insperity Invitational (2007, 2008)
    • Regions Tradition (2016, 2017)

Age-Related Notes

• Bernhard Langer (5), Hale Irwin (3), Jay Haas (2), Jimmy Powell (2) and Tom Watson (2) are the only players with multiple wins over 60. In all, 28 tournaments have been won by a player age 60 or older.
• Should Langer or Haas win on Sunday, it would be just the third time back-to-back tournaments are won by players age 60 or older.
  • 2011 Principal Charity Classic – Bob Gilder (60 years, 6 months, 5 days) 2011 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship – Tom Watson (61 years, 9 months, 25 days)
  • 2017 Dominion Energy Charity Classic – Bernhard Langer (60 years, 1 month, 25 days)
    2017 Invesco QQQ Championship – Bernhard Langer (60 years, 2 months, 2 days)