Second round: Simpson, Langer on top in Oregon

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Tim Simpson shares the second-round lead with Bernhard Langer in Sunriver, Ore.

Aug. 16, 2008

SUNRIVER, Ore. (AP) -- Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer shot a 6-under 66 in 100-degree heat Friday for a share of the second-round lead with Tim Simpson in the JELD-WEN Tradition, the fourth of the five Champions Tour majors.

Leaderboard: Round 2

Satuday's tee times
Friday's notebook

Langer and Simpson had 10-under 134 totals at the Crosswater Club. Simpson shot a second straight 67 despite hip and back problems that he said could jeopardize the rest of the tournament for him.

Fred Funk (66), Jay Haas (68) and Mike Goodes (68) were a stroke back, and Tom Watson (64) followed at 8 under. Defending champion Eduardo Romero, the U.S. Senior Open winner, was 5 under after a 65.

Langer, a two-time winner this year and the Champions Tour's money leader, was 12 under after birdieing eight of the first 15 holes. But the German star dropped two strokes with bogeys at 16 and 18.

After finishing the front nine in 33, Langer put his extra-long putter to work, rolling in birdies on 10, 11, 12 and 13. As his 40-footer curled in at 11, he backpedaled across the green, pumping his fist.

Simpson, slowed by Lyme disease in the early 1990s, wrenched his back on the practice range during the U.S. Senior Open and had to withdraw from that tournament. On Friday, he began to experience pain that got progressively worse as he neared the turn. After bogeys on Nos. 9 and 11, Simpson managed to make an 8-foot birdie putt on 12, then called for tour trainer Doug Miller to work on his back.

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TRIVIA QUESTION

The two players tied for the lead at the JELD-WEN Tradition couldnt be more different in terms of their Champions Tour careers. Bernhard Langer leads the Charles Schwab Cup points list and has three wins and 11 top 10s this season while Tim Simpson is still searching for his first Champions Tour title. Which of these two players had more wins on the PGA TOUR? See answer at the bottom of the page

Friday's Best

EASIEST HOLE	TOUGHEST HOLE
The par-5 2nd hole played 0.448 strokes under par on Friday with a 4.552 average. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 3 PARS: 40 BOGEYS: 20 OTHERS: 0	The par-4 9th hole played to a scoring average of 4.373 on Friday. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 3 PARS: 40 BOGEYS: 20 OTHERS: 0

Round of the Day

Tom Watson had the lowest round on a low-scoring Friday at the JELD-WEN Tradition. Watson's 8-under 64 at The Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort featured nine birdies and a lone bogey. It was a vast improvement from his even-par 72 in the first round and moved him for a tie for 37th into sixth place.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

For the first time in his Champions Tour career, Bernhard Langer is a co-leader through 36 holes. On three other occasions, Langer has held sole possession of the lead through 36 holes.

Until Friday, Tim Simpson had never been tied for the lead after two rounds of a Champions Tour event. Friday also marked the first time since 2002 that there had been co-leaders through 36 holes of the JELD-WEN Tradition. At that event in Arizona, Bob Eastwood, Bob Gilder and Jim Thorpe shared the top spot at 7-under 137 and Thorpe eventually went on to win in a playoff.

Bernhard Langer's other leads in his Champions Tour career through 36 holes:

Event	Score	Margin	Eventual Finish
2007 Administaff Small Business Classic	62-65--127	4	Win
2008 Toshiba Classic	65-65--130	3	Win in playoff
2008 Ginn Championship	67-66--133	2	Win

OVERCOMING INJURIES

Warning -- don't read ahead if you get squeamish with medical problems.

Fred Funk hasn't had a great year as far as injuries go. He had surgery after blowing out his knee out at THE PLAYERS Championship in May. Then, his neck started locking up, meaning he'd have to get massages -- sometimes even on the course, like at the U.S. Senior Open -- and played through pain.

While his neck is still troublesome, it can't be all that bad. Funk did shoot a 6-under 66 on Friday and sits one shot out of the lead. He attributes some of his pain relief to a local chiropractor in Bend, Ore., whom he met last year when he was having back troubles.

He had his neck treated on Wednesday morning before the JELD-WEN Tradition and described the process in graphic detail.

"Almost every day it's gotten better. It's just a knot, not even a knot, it's a slight tear. Other guys have these metal knives that get the gristle out. He uses a ceramic spoon and, when you put the edge of the spoon and you start rubbing, it kills you but it breaks it up," Funk said.

Something must be working. Funk made seven birdies and only one bogey in the second round and is tied for third in total birdies for the week.

What the leaders said...

Player	Score	Position	Quote
Tim Simpson	10 under	T1	"Wednesday was the first time I played in 12 or 13 days. I felt good, not totally confident over putter but, boy, have I hit the ball well over the two days."
Jay Haas	9 under	T3	"No bogeys yet and just made some nice saves here and there. I've done a lot of good things, driven the ball in the fairway. The fairways here are pretty generous -- if you miss a fairway, you've hit a poor drive. The greens are a little softer than last year just makes it easier to be more aggressive."
Fred Funk	9 under	T3	"I'm just enjoying playing right now. I have a different mindset at the moment than I earlier in the beginning of the year. My knee is starting to feel a little better. I'm not trying to be critical of myself, I'm trying to be accepting of everything. Yesterday was disappointing but I just tried to blow it off, it happens and not worry about it."

SETTING RECORDS

Tom Watson's 8-under 64 today set the 18-hole tournament record at Crosswater and matched the course record set by Pablo Martin of Oklahoma State at the 2006 NCAA Championships.

Watson and Bernhard Langer, playing in the same grouping, both made nine birdies and had a best-ball score of 14-under. Watson's round was his best of the 2008 campaign and was his lowest score in the JELD-WEN Tradition since posting a 62 in the second round in 2003 at The Reserve Golf and Country Club near Portland.

Langer's score matched his lowest in a major on the Champions Tour (66-Rd. 4, U.S. Senior Open).

TRIVIA ANSWER

Tim Simpson. He won four times, including the 1985 Southern Open, the 1989 USF&G Classic and the 89 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic and the 1990 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic. Langer captured two major titles at the 1985 and 1993 Masters and also won the 1985 Sea Pines Heritage.