Edwards takes two-stroke lead over McNulty at JELD-WEN Tradition  SUNRIVER, Ore. (AP) -- After the opening two rounds, David Edwards was downplaying the significance of possibly winning the JELD-WEN Tradition. Edwards had a two-stroke lead in the fourth major of the year on the Champions Tour, but there were still 36 holes to play. So it was way too early to think about a title.  David Edwards is looking for his first major win. (WireImage)
"You go out and play hard. If I've finished in the top 10, I've played well," he said. "If I win, great." Edwards shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to reach 12 under on the 7,489-yard Crosswater Golf Club course in the sunny high desert of central Oregon. Mark McNulty was 10 under after a 68, while Keith Fergus was 8 under after a 66. "We've only written half the examination paper and there's another 36 questions to be answered," McNulty said. Edwards, who joined the Champions Tour last year and has three top 10 finishes this season, had seven birdies and no bogeys on Friday. McNulty, who has had lower back problems and has had a down year on the tour for players 50 and older, has strung together four rounds in the 60s after 15 rounds of 70 or higher. Playing in the same group, both McNulty and Edwards birdied the par-4 18th, "It's certainly going to make the chicken that I'm going to have for dinner taste better," McNulty said. The biggest galleries of the day followed the group of Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw and Bruce Summerhays. Watson and Crenshaw ran into trouble the par-4 14th when they each hit each other's balls and were each penalized two strokes. Crenshaw ended up with a triple bogey, and Watson had a double bogey. Watson shot a 72 to finish at 4 under. Crenshaw had a 77 and was 1 over. Don Pooley had a hole-in-one on the par-3 seventh hole. He used a 5-iron to drive the ball perfectly for 189 yards. It was Pooley's first ace on the Champions Tour. He was 4 under after a 58. Danny Edwards, David Edwards' brother, also had an ace on the third hole, hitting a 7-iron 181 yards, but he was well off the pace with a two-day score of 150. This season there have been 12 holes-in-one in tour events. There have been 12 in the history of the JELD-WEN Tradition. Last year, Argentina's Eduardo Romero came from five shots back on the final day to beat Lonnie Nielsen with a birdie on the first playoff hole at the Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club in Aloha, west of Portland. The JELD-WEN Tradition started at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., before it was moved to Superstition Mountain. With the help of Oregon native Peter Jacobsen, the event moved again in 2003 to the Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club outside of Portland. This season, it came to Crosswater. D.A. Weibring, who won earlier this month at the 3M Championship in Blaine, Minn., shot a second-round 66 for a 6-under 188 total. He eagled the first hole of the round. Money leader Jay Haas, who opened with two 70s, has finished in the top 10 in the season's first three majors. Watson won the Senior Open Championship, Brad Bryant took the U.S. Senior Open and Denis Watson won the Senior PGA Championship. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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