Mitsubishi Electric Champ: Second-round notebook

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KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii -- Brad Bryant has held sole possession of a lead going into the final round a total of two times in his Champions Tour career and was tied with two others on one occasion. In 2005, he held a two-stroke margin over six players at the Administaff Small Business Classic in Texas, including Jay Haas, and he finished fourth.

Condon/PGA TOUR

Bernhard Langer birdied four of his final six holes for a 66.

Inside the Numbers

36-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score 1. Brad Bryant 129 -15 2. Bernhard Langer 130 -14 3. Jay Haas 131 -13 T4. Hale Irwin 132 -12 T4. Jeff Sluman 132 -12 6. Andy Bean 133 -11 T7. Mark Wiebe 135 -9 T7. Mark McNulty 135 -9 T7. John Cook 135 -9 T7. Mark James 135 -9 T7. Tom Kite 135 -9 T7. Jerry Pate 135 -9

• Last year, Bryant also led by two strokes over five players, including Haas, at the AT&T Champions Classic. He eventually fell in a three-man playoff which included Roberts and eventual winner Denis Watson.

• Bryant has played in the final group a total of 10 times on the Champions Tour and has won one time (2006 Regions Charity Classic), while Langer has been in the final group seven times on the Champions Tour and has four wins (2007 Administaff Small Business Classic; 2008 Toshiba Classic, 2008 Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach and 2008 Administaff Small Business Classic).

• In the previous 25 tournaments, the player who has led or been tied for the lead after 36 holes has won the tournament 16 times. However, in the last five years, only Hale Irwin (2007) was a Saturday leader who went on to triumph. Fuzzy Zoeller (2004), Dana Quigley (2005) and Roberts (2006) all rallied from three strokes back for victory, and Fred Funk came from one stroke back in 2008.

• Irwin, a two-time winner of this event, trails Bryant by three strokes heading into Sunday's final round. He is seeking his 46th Champions Tour title and his 10th title in the state (eight Champions Tour and one PGA TOUR). In addition, Irwin could post his first top-10 finish since he was tied for seventh at the 2007 Charles Schwab Cup Championship. He did not post a top-10 finish last season, a first in his Champions Tour career.

• In his 11 starts at the Hualalai Golf Course, 2006 winner Roberts has made 72 birdies and three eagles in 198 holes and is a combined 64-under-par. Roberts set a new Champions Tour standard in 2006 when he finished with rounds of 63-67-61 for a total of 25-under-par 191 which set the Champions Tour record in relation to par. He also set an all-time record with 26 birdies in a three-round tournament. During this run, Roberts has birdied No. 4 in every round all four years, including two this year.

• The winner of the 2009 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai will get a jump on his competitors in the year-long Charles Schwab Cup race. The winner will pocket 315 points with 25 official events remaining. Haas is the defending champion in the race and he also won in 2006. A $1 million annuity awaits the winner at the end of the season with the next four places also earning annuities.

• Gary Player bettered his age for the second consecutive day when he shot a 1-under-par 71 (he shot a 2-under-par 70 on Friday). The 73-year-old Player has now bettered his age 11 times in his career as well as matching it 12 times

• Andy Bean's 6-under-par 66 gave him six consecutive rounds in the 60s dating back to last year. Bean posted four straight rounds in the 60s in winning the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and has fired rounds of 67-66 in this tournament. Dating back to last year, Bean has now posted 13 straight rounds of par or better.

• Jeff Sluman, who came into this event with a streak of 25 rounds par or better dating back to last year, increased that to 27 with his 5-under-par 67. Roberts holds the all-time Champions Tour record with 37 straight during the 2006-2007 season. Sluman's 27 consecutive ties him for third on the all-time list behind Roberts and Larry Nelson (32 in 2000), He joins Lee Trevino (1992), Bruce Summerhays (1995), Raymond Floyd (1995) and Bruce Fleisher (2002) with 27 straight.

• With very little wind on Saturday, the field averaged averaged 68.876 compared to 69.000 in the opening round and once again, 21 players had rounds in the 60s.

• Sluman remains the only player without a bogey after 36 holes. He has played his last 50 holes without a bogey going back to 2008.

• On Saturday, the easiest hole was No. 7 with an average score of 4.324 (-.676). There were two eagles and 20 birdies for the day. Andy Bean had the lone bogey. Once again, the most difficult was No. 5 at 3.382 (+.382). None of the 34 players in the field made a birdie on the hole and there were seven bogeys and three doubles.

• Haas posted 11th straight round in the 60s in as many starts in this event. He tied for third twice and tied for fifth in his previous starts.

• Bryant and Bernhard Langer lead all players with 17 birdies.

• How important is it to win this event? It usually guarantees the victor a spot among the top-30 money-winners at season's end, but victory in the season-opening event doesn't always translate into more wins later in the same season. Jack Nicklaus is the only former winner to not finish in the top 30 at season's end, but at the time he was playing a very limited schedule and made just six starts the year he won.