Jay Haas matched the Champions Tour record with a 10-under 60 to open a five-stroke lead Friday at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Haas, 58, made a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th after hitting his second shot into a greenside bunker and leaving his eagle blast short.
Haas became the eighth player in the history of the 50-and-over tour to shoot 60, and the first since Nick Price last year in the Toshiba Classic.
“I can’t remember another time that I’ve had a chance to shoot a 59,” Haas said. “I was thinking about it without question. I hit a decent bunker shot. It stopped a little quicker for me than I thought.”
Haas, who was at 14-under 126, also broke the course record on Desert Mountain’s Cochise layout, closing with a 7-under 28 on the back nine to finish a stroke off the tour’s nine-hole record.
Tom Lehman was second in the season-ending event after a 63, moving into position to win the Charles Schwab Cup points race. Bernhard Langer, 211 points ahead of second-place Lehman, was tied for fifth at 6 under after a 65.
Seattle native Fred Couples, who was paired with Haas, shot a 66 and was third at 8 under.
“It was just a very magical day for me,” Haas said. “I had a great pairing. I love playing with Freddie. … It was a wonderful day. One of those that you don’t want to end.”
OOSTHUIZEN ROLLS ON
Louis Oosthuizen again took advantage of the par 5s at Mission Hills, shooting a 9-under 63 at the HSBC Champions in Shenzhen, China, to build a five-shot lead and break a World Golf Championships record that previously belonged to Tiger Woods.
Along with opening a five-shot lead over Ernie Els, his South African mentor, Oosthuizen reached 16-under 128 – the lowest score to par through 36 holes in any World Golf Championships event. Woods had a 15-under 125 at Firestone in 2000, and he was at 15-under 127 at The Grove outside London in 2006 at the American Express Championship.
Els, who skipped the PGA Grand Slam of Golf early last week because of a minor ankle injury, was nearly as perfect as Oosthuizen. He also had a 63 that vaulted him from 19th place into a tie for second with Adam Scott of Australia, who had a 68.
ELSEWHERE
South Korea’s Jiyai Shin and Japan’s Ayako Uehara shot 4-under 68 to share the first-round lead at the LPGA Tour’s Mizuno Classic in Shima, Japan. … Chinese teen Guan Tianlang opened a five-shot lead at the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Bangkok, making nine birdies on his way to an 8-under 64. Guan, who turned 14 last week, was at 14-under 130 at Amata Spring Country Club.
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