Notebook, Round 2: Regions Charity Classic

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May. 15, 2010
By Phil Stambaugh, PGA TOUR Staff

Weather: Partly cloudy with highs in the upper 80s and winds from the south at 5-10 mph.

• With a threat of inclement weather, the final round will use a two-tee start beginning at 8:00 a.m. CT. Leaders will go off at 10 a.m. and the round is expected to finish at approximately 2:30 p.m. CT.

Recap of the Round: It was a record-breaking day at the Regions Charity Classic and Bobby Clampett shot an 8-under-par 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Dan Forsman thru two rounds. Clampett made four birdies in his last six holes and stands at 15-under 129 after 36 holes. Australian Peter Senior is two strokes back and Joey Sindelar is at 12-under, three strokes off the pace. Clampett, Senior and Sindelar are all seeking their first victories on the Champions Tour.

• Dan Forsman's tournament-record 62 was the best round of his Champions Tour career (64-3 times) and matched his lowest score on the PGA TOUR (62 twice, most recently at the 2003 Las Vegas Invitational in Round 1). Prior to Saturday, Forsman had made just two eagles all year, but he matched that Saturday, becoming the seventh different player in 2010 to make two eagles in a round.

• Forsman's round Saturday was also the best in the 19-year history of the Regions Charity Classic. After making a bogey at the second hole, Forsman played his last 16 holes Saturday in 11-under-par, making a pair of eagles and as well as seven birdies. Prior to Saturday, seven different players had posted 63 at the Regions Charity Classic.

• Bobby Clampett's 15-under-par 129 total for two rounds is a 36-hole tournament record. Both Hale Irwin and Gil Morgan had posted 14-under 130 totals at Greystone in 2001. The previous-best for 36 holes at Ross Bridge was 11-under 133 by Andy Bean in 2008. Clampett's career-best for 36 holes on the PGA TOUR was 9-under 131 at the 1989 Southern Open.

• Clampett carries a one-stroke lead into tomorrow's final round. On the PGA TOUR, Clampett never led or was tied for the lead heading into the last round. The last time he played in a final grouping was when he was second to Paul Azinger thru three rounds of the 1993 New England Classic at Pleasant Valley and ended up T4 in the event.

• Clampett is making just his second appearance on the Champions Tour this week, playing in the event on a sponsor exemption. He debuted two weeks ago at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic and was T47 near Biloxi. The last player to win a Champions Tour event on a sponsor exemption was Phil Blackmar at the 2009 AT&T Championship in San Antonio last fall.

• Bobby Clampett win tomorrow, it would be his first win on any Tour since claiming the 1982 Southern Open on September 26 that year. Clampett would end a victory drought of 27 years, 7 months and 20 days. Here are the all-time longest times between a player's last PGA TOUR victory and first Champions Tour title:

Mike Fetchick, 28 years, 9 months, 27 days (1956 Mayfair Inn Open/1986 Hilton Head Seniors International)
Peter Thomson, 28 years, 2 months, 7 days (1965 British Open/1984 World Seniors Invitational)
John Schroeder, 27 years, 9 months, 15 days (1973 U.S. Professional Match Play Championship/2001 NFL Golf Classic)

• Scoring was again excellent at Ross Bridge and for the first time in Champions Tour history since records were first kept in 1983, there were sub-70 stroke averages on consecutive days on a par-72 course. The stroke average for the field Saturday was 69.883 compared to 69.519 yesterday. There were 54 rounds below par Saturday (36 scores in the 60s) compared to 60 yesterday (43 rounds in the 60s). Overall, there have been 642 birdies and a whopping 18 eagles made over the first two rounds. For the first two days of the event, the par-5 13th hole (4.370) has been the easiest, yielding six eagles and 89 birdies. The hardest hole has been the par-4 8th (4.110), yielding just 15 birdies. Prior to Saturday, the last time the Champions Tour had sub-70 field scoring averages on consecutive days on a par-72 course was

• Second-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win five of the first eight Champions Tour events this year. In the previous 18 events here in Birmingham, nine players who have led or been tied for the lead after 36 holes have gone on to win the tournament. From 1995-2001, it only happened in odd years: Graham Marsh (1995), Jay Sigel (1997), Larry Nelson (1999) and Hale Irwin (2001). George Archer (1992), Bruce Fleisher (2004), D.A. Weibring (2005), Andy Bean (2008) and Keith Fergus (2009) were the others.

• The winner of the Regions Charity Classic will earn 255 Charles Schwab Cup points. Fred Couples is the current leader in the Schwab Cup race with 1,105 points and Bernhard Langer is second with 818 points. At the end of the season, the player earning the most Schwab Cup points will earn a $1 million payout.

• Here's some fun facts on Sundays final grouping:

Tale of the Tape: Final group
Player Bobby Clampett Dan Forsman Peter Senior
Last Win 1982 Southern Open 2009 AT&T Champions Classic 2003 Australian PGA Championship
Best '10 Champions Tour Finish T47 T5 T11
Champions Tour Wins 0 1 0
PGA TOUR Wins 1 5 0

• Through 36 holes, Clampett has made the most birdies (15) and Clampett, Peter Senior, David Peoples, Ben Crenshaw and Ted Schultz have not made a bogey through the first two rounds.

Mike Goodes made the biggest move of the day, jumping 38 spots into a T17 after carding a 7-under 65 today.

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