FLOURTOWN, Pa. – Jay Don Blake birdied three of the last five holes Thursday at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club for a 2-under 70 and the first-round lead in the Constellation Senior Players Championship.

The 57-year-old Blake had five birdies and three bogeys on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon Course. He won the last of his three senior titles in 2012, and won at Torrey Pines in 1991 for his lone PGA Tour victory.

“Tough golf course out there and I’m just happy to get done with a couple under par,” Blake said. “Hit it pretty decent all day. … Hit it well, played well and just kind of executed some good shots out there today.”

Blake birdied the first two holes, then bogeyed the par-4 sixth, par-3 eighth and par-4 11th. He rebounded with birdies on par-3 14th, par-5 15th and par-4 17th in third of the PGA Tour Champions’ five majors.

“It was chilly early, still had some wind,” Blake said. “Luckily, the first couple holes were downwind so that was kind of a little help off to start. The first two holes, made birdie, so got off to a good start. Then we started about three, four holes right in a row just dead into the wind and it was cold, ball was going nowhere. It was just kind of survival.”

Vijay Singh bogeyed the par-4 18th to fall a stroke back along with Jeff Sluman, Brandt Jobe and Bart Bryant.

“It’s a tough day,” said the 53-year-old Singh, winless in seven career starts on the 50-and-over tour. “Regardless of what club you’ve got in the hand, wedge or 9-iron or 3-wood, it’s still long, gusty crosswinds. I played pretty good. I kept the ball in play most of the day, and unfortunately, had two three-putts, but that was pretty easy to do out here.”

The 34-time PGA Tour winner has made 15 starts this year on the regular tour.

“I think the last three or four events when I came over here, I kind of put too much pressure on myself that I have to win,” Singh said. “I just came this week just to have a good time and enjoy it and play good golf.”

Colin Montgomerie topped the group at 70.

“You get out of position off the tee and then you’re struggling,” Montgomerie said. “But I think it’s terrific, I really do. I think this is marvelous. This is a real major. This has a major feel to it. You could put these greens on any course worldwide and everyone would be thrilled with them.”

Two-time defending champion Bernhard Langer bogeyed three of his last four holes for a 71.

“It was really windy. That was tough,” Langer said. “Gusty winds, so it’s difficult to control. And the greens are lightning fast. On 18, I was in the right bunker and it was downwind, down grain, downhill, hard to stop the ball, it just keeps rolling and rolling and ended up making bogey. You’ve got to be aware of trying to keep the ball below the hole, which is tough to do when it’s windy like this.”

The German star won in 2014 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh and last year at Belmont in Massachusetts.

“It’s a great venue,” Langer said. “It’s any bit as good as the ones we played the last couple years. They always pick great golf courses and this is no exception.”

Sluman bogeyed 16 and 18 after reaching 3 under with a birdie on 15. Jobe also bogeyed the 18th.

“Overall, pretty happy with the day,” Sluman said. “Played solid golf in very trying conditions and this golf course is very challenging. It’s a great test of golf.”

Billy Andrade, Scott Dunlap and Doug Garwood matched Montgomerie at 70.

Tom Watson, at age 66, was in the group at 71.

“It’s a Tillinghast golf course. I’ve played a lot of Tillinghast golf courses and they are difficult,” Watson said. “You really have to hit a lot of quality shots. The greens are very quick and, with this northwest wind, it played very tough today. … This golf course is all you want.”

John Daly and Rod Spittle of St. Catharines, Ont., are T53 after matching 76s. Playing his fifth event on the tour since turning 50 in late April, Daly had a double bogey on the par-5 fifth, five bogeys and one birdie.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Marriage has made Scott McCarron a much better golfer.

McCarron won the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions title, birdieing the final three holes for a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke victory.

The 50-year-old McCarron finished at 15-under 201 at Wakonda Club to edge Miguel Angel Jimenez and Billy Andrade. Making his 17th start on the 50-and-over tour, McCarron won for the first time since taking the 2001 Bellsouth Classic for the last of his three PGA Tour titles.

McCarron didn’t have a top-10 finish during the first three months of the season. But after getting hitched last month, he had back-to-back top-10s before his milestone victory in Iowa.

“She’s been a phenomenal support. Even when I was thinking of hanging it up and just doing TV, she really pushed me,” McCarron said about wife Jenny. “I’ve got to hand it to her. She really stuck by me through a lot of difficult times.”

Andrade had a 68 after shooting a course-record 63 on Saturday. Jimenez shot a 67.

Duffy Waldorf (67) and Joe Durant (71) tied for fourth at 11 under, and Tom Lehman (71) and Senior PGA winner Rocco Mediate (70) were 10 under.

McCarron’s surge began with an eagle on the 5th hole that put him in position to challenge the leaders, and he pulled even with a birdie on the par-4 16th.

McCarron then drilled a 36-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 17, and he put his approach from the rough on the 18th hole within 10 feet of the pin.

McCarron played his final 47 holes without a bogey.

“Once I got to 16 I said, ‘You know, if I can birdie the last three I might have a chance to close it out.’ I played some great holes the last couple of holes,” McCarron said.

Jimenez appeared to be primed for his fourth senior tour win in just 12 starts after a long birdie putt on the 10th hole. But Jimenez bogeyed the 12th hole and could only muster pars on the 16th and 17th as McCarron surged past him.

Still, Jimenez has finished fourth or better in his last three appearances on the senior tour this season.

Andrade, Durant and Todd Hamilton began the final round in a three-way tie for the lead.

Only Andrade was truly a factor Sunday.

Andrade fell quickly from the top, with bogeys on his first three holes. But he surged back and had a relatively easy eagle putt on the 15th hole, which he left it just inches wide.

Andrade could’ve forced a playoff with a long-shot chip on No. 18. He didn’t get it, but Andrade did sink a long putt to tie for second.

“Just a bad start. It was a funky day. The wind was swirling,” Andrade said.

Durant also started poorly before a string of birdies on the back nine ensured a top-five finish.

Hamilton also fell apart on the front nine. Hamilton had four bogeys and, like Durant, a double bogey on No. 7. He shot a 76 to tie for 17th.

John Daly, whose debut in Iowa helped draw record crowds all weekend, finally put together a solid round. Daly shot a 69 and wound up 1 over for the tournament, just a week after missing the cut at the Senior PGA Championship.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Billy Andrade broke the course record with a 9-under 63 on Saturday for a share of the second-round lead with Joe Durant and Todd Hamilton in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic.

Durant had a 65, and Hamilton shot a 67 to match Andrade at 10-under 134 at the Wakonda Club.

Andrade broke the course record of 64 set by Bart Bryant in 2013 and matched by Bill Glasson in 2014. Andrade also tied the tournament record of 62 set by Kirk Triplett in 2012 at Glen Oaks.

Miguel Angel Jimenez (67) and Tom Lehman (68) were two strokes back, and Senior PGA winner Rocco Mediate (67) was 8 under along with Scott McCarron (68) and first-round leader John Inman (71).

John Daly, the senior newcomer who helped draw a record opening-round crowd on Friday, shot his second straight 74 to drop to 4 over.

St. Catharines, Ont., native Rod Spittle shot a 3-under 69 and is tied for 37th.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Rocco Mediate holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the par-3 17th to wrap up a record-setting, wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the Senior PGA Championship.

Smoking cigars during the round, the 53-year-old Mediate closed with a 5-under 66 – holing a 15-footer for par on the last at Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores, for a three-stroke victory over two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie.

Mediate finished at 19-under 265 to break the tournament record of 268 set by Sam Snead in 1973 at PGA National. The six-time PGA Tour winner became the first wire-to-wire winner in the event since Nicklaus in 1991 at PGA National.

Mediate matched the course and tournament records with an opening 62 and added rounds of 66 and 71 to take a two-stroke lead over Montgomerie into the final round.

Mediate broke through with the PGA Tour Champions major victory nearly eight years after losing the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines to Tiger Woods on the first extra hole after an 18-hole playoff.

Mediate won for the third time on the 50-and-over tour, with the first two coming in 2013.

Montgomerie shot a 67 – and matched Snead for the second-best total in tournament history. The 52-year-old Scot won in 2014 at Harbor Shores and last year at French Lick in Indiana. He also won the 2014 U.S. Senior Open.

Bernhard Langer tied for third at 13 under in a failed bid to become the first player to win all five PGA Tour Champions majors. The 58-year-old German won the Regions Tradition last week in Alabama for his sixth senior major title and 100th worldwide victory. In Alabama, Langer joined Nicklaus as the only players to win four different senior majors.

Langer finished with a 67. Brandt Jobe also was 13 under after a 68.

John DalCorobbo tied for seventh at 11 under to top the club professionals, shooting a 71. The 51-year-old DalCorobbo is a PGA assistant professional at Brickyard Crossing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won the Senior PGA Professional in October to top the club pro qualifiers.

Rod Spittle of St. Catharines tied for 12th at 10-under while compatriot Stephen Ames took 44th place at 1-under.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Rocco Mediate shot an even-par 71 in tricky wind conditions Saturday in the Senior PGA Championship to take a two-stroke lead over two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie into the final round.

Four strokes ahead at a tournament-record 14 under entering the day, Mediate had three birdies and three bogeys – his first of the week – at Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores. He matched the course and tournament records with an opening 62 and had a 66 on Friday.

“I was ecstatic with today, believe it or not,” Mediate said. “I would love to have made a couple more putts, but so would everybody else in the field. But I was happy with the way I felt. I felt good.

“The club was flying today. I let it, just let it go, even more than first two days, believe it or not. I just didn’t hole enough putts. … But I was ecstatic with the shots I hit into some of these wind conditions. It’s a good sign.”

The 53-year-old Mediate won both of his PGA Tour Champions titles in 2013 after winning six times on the PGA Tour. In the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, he lost to Tiger Woods on the first extra hole after an 18-hole playoff.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” Mediate said. “Today, I wanted to see what I had and I had it. It wasn’t bad. The golf course was hard today, I thought. Wind was cooking, it was just hard. This golf course is hard without any wind. … This is what you want to feel. I’m playing against one of the best we have. A lot of the best we have are just a little bit behind. So, it’s not going to be easy and it’s not supposed to be easy. It’s going to be a tough day and it’s going to be a fun day.”

Montgomerie had a 68 to reach 12 under.

“It was very difficult today,” Montgomerie said. “Club selection was extremely difficult on a course that demands good club selection or else you got out of position. I would have taken 68 at the start of the day. It was very windy and very difficult to judge the distances into the pins. So, I was delighted with 68. It’s one of the better scores of the leading pack.

The 52-year-old Scot won the major championship in 2014 at Harbor Shores and last year at French Lick Resort in Indiana. He also won the 2014 U.S. Senior Open.

“You know how much this tournament championship means to me,” Montgomerie said. “Obviously, my first 72-hole stroke play win here in America and managed to repeat the feat last year. To come back here, I wanted to make a good showing of it. I really did. I wanted to come here and contend on Saturday night. And that’s what I’ve done. So, I’m in a position where I can win.”

Club pro John DalCorobbo was third at 11 under after a 69. The 51-year-old DalCorobbo is a PGA assistant professional at Brickyard Crossing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won the Senior PGA Professional in October to top the club pro qualifiers.

Tom Lehman, Kirk Triplett and Brandt Jobe were 10 under, all shooting 69.

“A little tougher conditions, I thought,” Triplett said. “Some good pins. A little bit more wind. It made you think. The greens are still receptive and guys can still make birdies. … Twelve-, 13-under’s not going to win it, you’re going to have to get to 15, 16 to have a chance.”

Bernhard Langer had a 71 to drop into a tie for seventh at 9 under in his bid to become the first player to win all five PGA Tour Champions majors. The 58-year-old German won the Regions Tradition last week in Alabama for his sixth senior major title and 100th worldwide victory. In Alabama, Langer joined Nicklaus as the only players to win four different senior majors.

An even-par round has St. Catharines, Ont., native Rod Spittle sitting T11 at 8-under. Calgary’s Stephen Ames is T20 at 6-under.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Rocco Mediate stretched his Senior PGA Championship lead to four strokes Friday at Harbor Shores, birdieing the final two holes for a 5-under 66.

“I haven’t been here in a long time,” Mediate said. “I’m looking forward to trying to drive it in the first fairway and see what happens from there. That’s all you can really do. … They’re going to be coming and it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s nervy. It’s cool.”

Mediate had a 14-under 128 total, four strokes better than the previous tournament record set by Sam Snead in 1973 and matched by Arnold Palmer in 1984 and Jack Nicklaus in 1991. The 53-year-old Mediate opened with a 62 on Thursday to tie the tournament and course records set by Kenny Perry in the 2012 final round on the Nicklaus-designed layout.

“I love it. This place, it’s just evil. In a good way,” said Mediate, bogey-free through 36 holes. “It’s just a great place. It really shows you the control you have. That’s why Jack built these greens, I’m sure he said, ‘Well, let’s see how good these guys are?'”

On Friday, Mediate started play on the 10th tee and birdied the par-4 16th and 18th. He added birdies on the par-5 fifth, par-4 eighth and par-5 ninth, leaving an eagle putt an inch short on the last.

“I had some moments out there where it went a little south, but I covered up with the short game today,” Mediate said. “I made some ridiculously good putts to save, and I made a bunch of birdies again. I hit a bunch of good shots. Hit a few loose ones and I covered it up.”

Mediate has one-putted 22 of his 36 holes, finishing with 22 putts Thursday and 26 on Friday. He won both of his PGA Tour Champions victories in 2013 after winning six times on the PGA Tour.

Gene Sauers was second, closing with a bogey for a 69. The three-time PGA Tour winner has successfully fought a rare skin condition, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, to play the 50-and-over tour.

“This is a blast,” Sauers said. “Coming back from where I’ve been, when I got sick back in 2011, and didn’t ever think I would play golf again and then coming back and playing with some of the best guys in the world. It’s a pleasure to be here and I’m humbled to be able to play with all these guys again.

Bernhard Langer birdied three of his last four holes in a 64 to reach 9 under in his bid to become the first player to win all five PGA Tour Champions majors.

“I made more putts today and I hit my irons a little closer,” Langer said. “It’s a little easier to make a 10-foot putt than a 20-foot putt. I played pretty well yesterday, just didn’t get much going. I was a little bit flat. But today I got off to a nice start and continued to play really good golf.”

The 58-year-old German won the Regions Tradition last week in Alabama for his sixth senior major title and 100th worldwide victory. In Alabama, Langer joined Nicklaus as the only players to win four different senior majors. Nicklaus had largely retired when the Senior British Open was added to the major rotation. He only played that once in its first year as a major in 2003.

Mediate played alongside two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie and Perry. Montgomerie had a 66 to join Langer in the third-place tie at 9 under. The Scot won in 2014 at Harbor Shores and last year at French Lick Resort in Indiana.

Perry had a 71 to drop eight strokes back at 6 under. He had the first double eagle in the history of the event, holing out with a 5-iron from 227 yards on the par-5 fifth hole. He eagled the hole Thursday.

“Straight down wind,” Perry said. “Hit the prettiest 5-iron, landed on the front of the green, and it just broke right in there like a putt. That’s the first one I ever made. So it was pretty neat to make your first albatross at the Senior PGA.”

Club pro John DalCorobbo also was 9 under after a 68. DalCorobbo is a PGA assistant professional at Brickyard Crossing in Indiana. He won the Senior PGA Professional Championship in October.

“It’s pretty special,” DalCorobbo said. “I just kept trying to stay with each shot, treating it like it was. It seems so cliche, but all I tried to do was just treat everything and just have really good acceptance for what happened.”

Fellow club pro J.R. Roth (67) was 8 under along with Tom Lehman (65), Kirk Triplett (69), Brandt Jobe (67), Canadian Rod Spittle (65) of St. Catharines, Ont., and Scott McCarron (65). Roth is the PGA director of golf at San Juan Country Club in Farmington, New Mexico.

John Daly missed the cut with rounds of 75 and 74. He had a 9 on the par-4 16th on Thursday.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames is T38 following a 2-under 69 performance.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Rocco Mediate played the first 13 holes in 9 under and closed with five pars for a 62 to match the Senior PGA Championship and Harbor Shore records Thursday.

Taking advantage of greens softened by overnight rain, Mediate matched the marks set by Kenny Perry in the 2012 final round.

“It wasn’t wet, as far as soaking wet. A couple wet spots. But it was fine,” Mediate said. “Greens were good. Soft. They received pretty good. … I know it rained like heck last night. I heard it last night. But the golf course was fine. Greens were good. Everything was good. A little softer.”

The 53-year-old Mediate capped a front-nine 29 with an eagle on the par-5 ninth and added birdies on the par-3 11th and 13th holes at Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores.

“Solid stuff,” Mediate said. “A lot of fairways. A bunch of greens. When I missed it was in the right spot. … I hit it close, so I had a lot of short putts for birdie. I didn’t really make a long one. It was one of those days. I just drove it really well. I hit a lot of solid irons.”

Mediate has two victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning six times on the PGA Tour.

“Stuff I’m working on is coming around,” Mediate said. “I’m just trying to get back to what I used to do and that’s hit the ball in the middle of the face most of the time. It’s been a few years since that’s happened. So it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun.”

Gene Sauers had a bogey-free 63.

“I like being up are early in the morning. It was nice,” Sauers said. “You get fresh greens and I hit the ball really solid. Just tried to concentrate on just where I wanted to place the ball and just not have too many long putts, because you can get some really pressure putts out here.”

Mike Goodes shot 64, and Kenny Perry, Kirk Triplett and club pro John DalCorobbo were another stroke back. Perry played alongside Mediate and two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie, who had two late bogeys in a 67.

“We were all feeding off each another,” Perry said. “Rocco shot 29 on the front nine and drug us all along in there. He hit it close and made a lot of putts. It kind of set the tone for the whole group.

“The whole group played nice until the last couple holes, I don’t know if we got tired or what, but they’re hard holes, 16, 17 and 18 are tough holes. I bogeyed 17 and I think Colin bogeyed 16 and 17. But Rocco parred them all. So he had an amazing round.”

Bernhard Langer, fresh off the 100th victory of his career – at a major, no less, at the Regions Tradition in Alabama, opened with a 69.

The 58-year-old German is going for an unprecedented sweep of all five PGA Tour Champions majors. In Alabama, he won his sixth major championship as a senior and joined Nicklaus as the only players to win four different senior majors. Nicklaus had largely retired when the Senior British Open was added to the major rotation. He only played that once in its first year as a major in 2003.

John Daly struggled to a 75 in his first senior major start. He had a 9 on the par-4 16th, a double bogey, three bogeys and six bogeys. Daly tied for 15th and 17th in his first two senior starts since turning 50.

Montgomerie played the first 10 holes in 6 under, with four straight birdies on Nos. 7-10. The Scot won in 2014 at Harbor Shores and last year at French Lick Resort in Indiana.

DalCorobbo holed out with a 9-iron from the fairway for an eagle on the par-5 18th. A PGA assistant professional at Brickyard Crossing in Indiana, he won the Senior PGA Professional Championship in October.

“For not playing in a competitive event for quite some time, I think that the focus, really, the plan was, to not so much to score, but can I handle my mental routine and stay within that. So for the most part I think I did a good job. I hit a tremendous shot on 18 and a lot of that is luck, but I hit some good shots during the day and really happy about that.”

St. Catharines, Ont., resident, Rod Spittle shot 2-under to sit T30, while Stephen Ames of Calgary is T68 after carding a 71.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bernhard Langer erased any doubt not long after his nearest challenger had all but conceded.

Langer ran away with the Regions Tradition on Sunday for his sixth senior major and 27th PGA Tour Champions title. He birdied the final three holes and five of seven to pull away for a six-stroke victory over Olin Browne, who had already predicted that “nobody’s running down Berhnard.” The 58-year-old German finished with a 5-under 67 at Greystone for a 17-under 271 total.

Langer matched Gary Player and Tom Watson with the third-most major championships on the 50-and-over-tour, behind Hale Irwin’s seven and Jack Nicklaus’s eight. He opened the day with a four-stroke lead, lost a couple of strokes and closed emphatically with the birdie binge.

Langer could become the first player to win all five of the current senior majors if he wins the Senior PGA Championship next week.

“It’s just an amazing feeling to win any tournament, but to win the majors against the best players on tough venues and good courses just means that much more,” Langer said. He called it his 100th victory as a professional, “and to do it in a major means even more.”

Browne made a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 67. Tommy Armour III, Joey Sindelar and Kirk Triplett finished at 10 under.

It was the lowest score at the Tradition since Fred Funk finished with a 269 in 2008 at Oregon. It was also the largest margin of victory since Doug Tewell won by nine in 2001.

Browne closed with a six-foot birdie putt for a 67 but some near-misses on the greens helped keep him from challenging Langer at the end. Langer came in with the tour’s lowest scoring average and still hasn’t finished worse than 11th this year.

“He’s as fit as he’s ever been,” Browne said. “They’ve tried to ruin his putting by taking away the long putter and he’s not letting that happen. He’s still putting great. He’s just a consummate course management guy. He absolutely refuses to give an inch. He charts the course better than anybody else, he plays to his strengths and he’s tenacious.”

That was certainly true Sunday.

Langer saved par with a 20-footer upslope on No. 4 after his tee shot rolled into the water, forcing him to take a drop. The normally stoic German raised both arms in the air and then pumped his right fist celebrating the shot – more of a reaction than when he polished off a win that hadn’t really been in doubt for a while.

“That was key to keep the momentum going,” Langer said. He opened with a 5-foot birdie putt on the first hole but said his most consistent success came off the tee.

“I drove the ball phenomenal,” Langer said. “I can’t recall hitting every fairway for 36 holes in a row, and I’ve done that, I think. I don’t think I was in the rough once the last two days, which is pretty unique.

“I think that was key to the victory. My putter was hot and cold. My irons were hot and cold, but the driver was really the outstanding club. It didn’t let me down, not one time the last few days.”

Armour closed with a 66 with birdies on five of the last six holes while Sindelar and Triplett each had 68s.

John Daly finished at 5 under with a closing 74 after three straight rounds below par. He hit a sprinkler head on No. 10, but did finish with a crowd-pleasing eagle on 18.

“The guy says two shots of Crown on a putt like that, I’m usually going to make one of those,” Daly said. “If it’s for Crown, I’m making it.”

The 70-year-old Irwin bested his age with a 69. He finished 14 over for the tournament, though, including an 80 on Saturday.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bernhard Langer surged to a four-stroke lead Saturday in the Regions Tradition.

A stroke behind leader Kenny Perry entering the round, Langer shot a 3-under 69 to move to 12-under 204 in the first PGA Tour Champions major of the year – while Perry and others stumbled at Greystone.

The 58-year-old Langer won the Chubb Classic in February for his 26th victory on the 50-and-over tour.

Perry held the lead after each of the first two rounds but had a double bogey on the opening hole on his way to a 74. He and Scott McCarron, who shot a 72, were tied for second place going into the final round.

John Daly was among five players at 7 under after a 69. Playing in his second PGA Tour Champions event, the two-time major winner had a double bogey, two bogeys, an eagle and five birdies.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kenny Perry navigated condition changes and a course he’s still learning to retain the Regions Tradition lead.

Perry shot a 2-under 70 on Friday to maintain a one-stroke advantage over Bernhard Langer and Billy Andrade after two rounds. The course was hit by early light rain and the wind switched directions from the opening day.

Perry had three birdies and a bogey to reach 10-under 134 at Greystone in the first of the year’s five PGA Tour Champions majors. The 2014 Regions Tradition winner has missed only one green in regulation in the first two days.

Conditions changed after his bogey-free opening 64. Tournament officials opted for a two-tee start because of weather concerns, with Perry and Langer starting on the 10th tee. The course received 0.14 inches of rain overnight and in the morning, forcing a 30-minute delay to start but escaping any heavy rain during play.

“Totally different golf course,” Perry said. “We had northeasterly winds (Thursday). I think today was southerly, and so the golf course played totally different. A lot longer, I thought.

“A lot of the par 5s I was hitting 6 and 7 iron into, I was hitting 5 woods and woods in today, so pretty challenging. I mean, plus, I don’t have a lot of experience here so that was kind of hard. You’re kind of out there guessing.”

Langer picked up one stroke with a round that also included a single bogey. But he finished better after closing Thursday with a bogey.

“(I) didn’t make all the putts I wanted to make, but made a few par saving putts there toward the end,” Langer said. “So I’m right there, good chance for the weekend. Just got to get my game together.”

Andrade birdied the final hole for a 68, including six birdies and two bogeys. Other players told him coming in that he’d like the course, and it’s proving true so far.

“It kind of fits my style and I knew that going in,” Andrade said.

Three players are at 8 under, including Gene Sauers, Scott McCarron and last year’s runner up Kevin Sutherland.

Sauers and McCarron both returned from multi-year hiatuses from their playing careers at one point, though for very different reasons.

Sauers shot a 70 for a two-day total of 136. He had a bogey and three birdies, all in the final six holes with nothing but pars the rest of the way. Sauers has four runner-up finishes on the senior tour and hasn’t won since the PGA Tour’s Air Canada Championship in 2002.

He missed seven years because of a rare skin condition, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, that clogged blood vessels in his arms and legs and eventually caused his skin to burn from the inside out.

McCarron eagled the par-5 second hole after opening with his only bogey of the round for a 66. Also a TV analyst, he won three PGA Tour championships despite giving up pro golf for four years to work in his family’s clothing business.

Sutherland had his second straight 68.

Recently turned 50, John Daly finished with his second straight roller-coaster 70. He had a triple bogey to go to 4 over through three holes and also had a string of four birdies in six holes.

Defending champion Jeff Maggert was 3 under after a 73.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames was 1-under and sits T39. St. Catharines, Ont., native Rod Spittle shot a second straight 72 and is tied for 50th.