FedEx Kinko's Classic: Second-Round Notebook  PGA TOUR Staff LAKEWAY, Texas -- Scott Hoch's three-stroke Saturday night lead a the FedEx Kinko's Classic is the largest 36-hole lead in the five-year history of this event. The previous best was one stroke in 2003 (Tom Kite) and 2006 (Bruce Fleisher). It also matches the largest 36-hole lead on the Champions Tour in 2007.  Two straight 68s have D.A. Weibring alone in second. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
• The last time Hoch held sole possession of the lead heading into the final round was on the PGA TOUR at the 2001 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic where he was eventually a one-stroke victory. He is the only player in the 78-man field without a bogey through 36 holes. • Sunday's winner will earn 240 points in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race. Jay Haas is the current points leader with 996 points, followed by Hale Irwin (645) and Loren Roberts (559). • In its brief history, the FedEx Kinko's Classic has had three of its four champions come from off the pace Sunday to win. The lone exception was in 2005, when Jim Thorpe was tied with Wayne Levi after 36 holes. Last year, Jay Haas started the final round three strokes behind Bruce Fleisher and used a 7-under-par 65 to win by two strokes. • In 2004, Larry Nelson also trailed by three strokes heading into the final round and eventually held off Bruce Lietzke by one. Four years ago in the inaugural FedEx Kinko's Classic, Hale Irwin trailed by one stroke entering the final round and, despite carding a 73, managed to beat Tom Watson in a playoff. • Should either Leonard Thompson or Hale Irwin (both T3 and four strokes back) prevail on Sunday, they would become the second winner over the age of 60 this year. Irwin won the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai at age 61 years, 7 months and 18 days in January. The last time the Champions Tour had two winners over the age of 60 in a season was in 2005, when Irwin claimed both the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and the SAS Championship. • Irwin is also bidding for his 46th career victory on the Champions Tour and is also seeking his second win in this tournament. He won the inaugural tournament in 2003 in a playoff with Tom Watson. • Saturday's scoring average was 74.205, a jump of nearly two strokes from Friday's average of 72.385. Only five players posted rounds in the 60s, compared to 15 on Friday, and 15 players finished with rounds below par compared to 32 on Friday. • Defending champion Jay Haas, who is bidding for his second win in succession, shot a 1-over-par 73 and remains T23. • Once again, No. 9 was the most difficult hole with a scoring average of 4.615, a jump from Friday's average of 4.346. There were just three birdies on Saturday and only nine overall. D.A. Weibring owns two of those birdies. • Fred Funk made Saturday's biggest move, jumping 25 spots after shooting a 4-under-par 68. He moved from a T33 on Friday into a T8. • Massy Kuramoto may be one of the smallest players on the Champions Tour at 5-foot-5 and 150 pounds, but he stands large in terms of driving distance. The long-time Japanese star, who is in his second year on the Champions Tour, is averaging 296.8 yards off the tee, the second-best average overall in this tournament. Keith Fergus leads at 300.5. • Tom Kite (T11) has had the best showing among the players from the Austin area. Tom Jenkins is T16 and Ben Crenshaw is T36 after two rounds. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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