SAN ANTONIO – Defending champion Michael Allen shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday for a share of the lead with Scott McCarron in the Champions Tour’s San Antonio Championship.

“For the first time, instead of trying to defend my championship, I’m trying to just win the golf tournament,” Allen said. “Luckily, I’ve had the chance to defend a few times over the last few years, but trying to defend has never worked out too well for me, so I’m taking a new approach.”

McCarron also had a 69 to reach 6-under 138 on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course. The three-time PGA Tour winner is making his seventh start on the tour after turning 50 in July.

“This golf course is tough. It’s tricky,” McCarron said. “You have to hit the fairways. If you don’t hit the fairways, it’s very difficult.”

The 56-year-old Allen has seven senior victories after failing to win on the PGA Tour.

“The course was set up great. It was set up hard,” Allen said. “Every pin seemed to be in the back of the green. Breezy, but not too bad today. It was a challenging, but fun day. The greens were extremely fast, extremely tricky.”

Fred Couples was a stroke back along with Bernhard Langer, Scott Dunlap and first-round leader Wes Short Jr. Couples shot 69, Langer 68, Dunlap 71 and Short 72. Couples won the 2011 event, shooting 62-62-66 for a seven-stroke victory.

“I thought today’s pins were really, really, hard,” Couples said. “It was hard to get the ball close and it was hard to make a putt.”

Charles Schwab Cup leader Colin Montgomerie was tied for 11th at 3 under after a 70. He has a 39-point lead over Jeff Maggert with three events left in the season-long competition.

Maggert withdrew after nine holes because of a lingering left calf injury.

“I felt I could play this week but the calf tightened up on me yesterday and with the Toshiba Classic and Charles Schwab Cup Championship coming up, I didn’t want to risk it any further this week,” Maggert said.

Canada’s Stephen Ames had a share of second, but dropped into a tie for 15th thanks to a 74 Saturday.

Brandt Jobe was tied for 27th at 1 over in his Champions Tour debut. He shot 72.

SAN ANTONIO – Wes Short Jr. birdied three of the last four holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s San Antonio Championship.

The 51-year-old former University of Texas player had seven birdies and two bogeys on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course. He won the Quebec Championship last year for his lone victory on the 50-and-over tour and also won the PGA Tour’s 2005 Las Vegas event.

Paul Goydos, Jeff Sluman, Canada’s Stephen Ames, Duffy Waldorf and Scott Dunlap were tied for second.

Defending champion Michael Allen had a 69. Fred Couples shot a 70. He won the 2011 event

Charles Schwab Cup leader Colin Montgomerie opened with a 71. He has a 39-point lead over Jeff Maggert with three events left in the season-long competition. Maggert had a 72. He has a tour-high four victories, winning majors in the Regions Tradition and U.S. Senior Open.

CARY, N.C. – Tom Lehman had an eagle and three birdies in the final four holes Sunday to win the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

The 56-year-old Lehman birdied the par-4 15th and 16th, eagled the par-5 17th and birdied the par-4 18th for a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke victory over Joe Durant.

“It’s just nice to get back in the winner’s circle,” Lehman said. “It’s nice to see the putts drop when you need them most.”

Lehman finished at 12-under 204 at Prestonwood Country Club and earned $315,000 for his ninth victory on the 50-and-over tour and first since June 2014.

“I knew that there was a lot of guys really bunched up, and I knew that nobody was running away with it,” Lehman said. “I was 7 under from the 10th hole on … and nobody was really making any big move, so the game was still on. (Durant) played well, but he didn’t get way ahead where we couldn’t catch him. So, he kept everybody – the last group kept everybody in the game.”

Durant closed with a 68. Needing to hole out from the fairway on the 18th to force a playoff, he hit close to set up his final birdie. He missed a 4-foot birdie putt on 17.

“You’ve got make a four there,” Durant said. “I knew that (Lehman) had made a three, and from the crowd, I figured he made a birdie on 18, too. He just finished great. He did what you have to do to win a golf tournament out there, and I just finished a little short.”

Bernhard Langer and Kenny Perry tied for third at 10 under. Langer shot a 68. Perry, the second-round leader, had a 70. Colin Montgomerie tied for fifth at 8 under after a 66.

“So disappointing in many ways, the week to be honest, but that’s my best finish here,” Montgomerie said. “At least I got a top 10 here.”

Montgomerie took sole possession of first place in the Charles Schwab Cup race, 39 points ahead of Jeff Maggert after they began they week tied. Langer is third with three events left.

Canada’s Stephen Ames tied for 16th at 4-under 212.

CARY, N.C. – Kenny Perry shot a 4-under 68 in the rain Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds in the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

Perry had an 8-under 136 total at Prestonwood Country Club. Joe Durant was second after a 68, and first-round leader Bernhard Langer (73) was another stroke back along with Lee Janzen (68).

“It really rained on us out there,” Perry said. “It was a battle. I didn’t have a lot of feel in my hands coming down the stretch, but I hit nice shots and the ball seemed to get around, and I got it in the hole.”

Perry, the 2011 winner at Prestonwood, won the 3M Championship in August in Minnesota for his eighth victory on the 50-and-over tour.

Durant made several long birdie putts, including a 40-footer on the par-3 eighth and a 20-footer on the par-5 12th.

“It was tough, just hard hitting the ball solidly, fighting your grip and everything,” Durant said. “But I putted beautifully today, and that’s why I played so well because my putter was hot.”

Jeff Maggert made the biggest move. The Charles Schwab Cup co-leader shot a 67 to reach 4 under.

Colin Montgomerie, tied with Maggert in the season-long points race, was 2 under after a 72. Langer is third in the Schwab Cup race.

Janzen said he battled all day to keep dry.

“It’s hard to keep your hands dry,” Janzen said. “It’s hard to keep anything dry because everything is wet – everything you touch.”

Sunny conditions were expected Sunday.

“Hopefully, the sun will come out, it will dry up a little bit, and you’ll see some fireworks out there, guys going after it,” Perry said. “You could actually see some really good scores, so I’m going to have to go low again. I’m going to have to shoot a good round because it never fails, somebody on this tour always plays well on Sunday.”

Canada’s Stephen Ames is tied for 26th at 1-under.

CARY, N.C. – Bernhard Langer shot a 7-under 65 in windy conditions Friday to take a two-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

The 58-year-old German star had seven birdies in a bogey-free round at Prestonwood Country Club. He won the Senior Players Championship in June for his 24th victory on the 50-and-over tour.

“It was great not to make any bogeys because there’s lots of opportunities to make bogeys,” said Langer, the 2012 winner at Prestonwood. “I got off to a nice start with two birdies right away. I played some solid golf, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens and gave myself some opportunities.

“I never really struggled for par. It was stressless golf in a sense where I just kept the ball in play and took my chances and made the odd putt here and there.”

Gene Sauers, John Riegger and Scott Dunlap shot 67, and Kenny Perry was another stroke back along with Tom Lehman, Duffy Waldorf, Kevin Sutherland, Rod Spittle, Greg Kraft and Olin Browne.

“It’s one of the windier days I’ve played out here, so it was a challenge right out of the box,” Waldorf said.

Langer is third in the Charles Schwab Cup points race, 388 points behind leader Colin Montgomerie and Jeff Maggert with four events left. Montgomerie was tied for 17th after a 70, and Maggert was tied for 36th after a 72. The tournament winner will get 315 points. Langer is trying to become the first three-time Cup winner after taking the season titles in 2010 and 2014.

Langer skipped the last Champions Tour event in September at Pebble Beach to play in the European’s European Open at a course he designed in Germany.

“The goal is to draw closer to the two guys or maybe even pass them, but that’s a big challenge,” Langer said about Montgomerie and Maggert. “They’re both very good golfers. They’ve had fantastic years. So, it’s not going to be easy, but today was a good start.”

Maggert has a tour-high four victories this year, winning major titles in the Regions Tradition and U.S. Senior Open. Montgomerie successfully defended his title in the Senior PGA Championship.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Esteban Toledo held off 66-year-old Tom Watson by a stroke Sunday at Pebble Beach in the Champions Tour’s First Tee Open.

The 52-year-old Mexican player shot a 3-under 69, rebounding from a bogey on the par-3 17th with a par on the par-5 18th for a 9-under 206 total. He also won twice on the 50-and-over tour in 2013.

Watson was trying to break Mike Fetchick’s record as the oldest winner in tour history. Fetchick won the 1985 Hilton Head Seniors Invitational on his 63rd birthday.

Watson finished with a 67. The Hall of Famer moved into a tie for the lead at 9 under on the par-4 16th with his seventh birdie of the round, but bogeyed the 17th after hitting his tee shot into a bunker and missing a 10-foot par putt. He parred the 18th.

After opening with a 75 at Poppy Hills, Watson had a 65 on Saturday at Pebble Beach. He won the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and took the PGA Tour’s Bing Crosby event at the course in 1977 and 1978.

Second-round leader Colin Montgomerie closed with a 73 to tie for third at 7 under with Vijay Singh and Woody Austin. Singh finished with a 69, and Austin shot 70.

Canadian Rod Spittle finished with a 4-under 68 for a share of 11th place while Stephen Ames closed with an even-par final round to sit T23.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Colin Montgomerie settled for a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s First Tee Open after bogeying the final hole Saturday at Pebble Beach.

The 52-year-old Scot finished with a 5-under 67, missing a 6-foot par putt on the par-5 18th to fall to 8-under 135. He opened with a 68 on Friday at par-71 Poppy Hills.

Second behind Jeff Maggert in the Charles Schwab Cup points race, Montgomerie is coming off a victory two weeks ago in England in a European Senior Tour event. All three of his Champions Tour victories have come in majors, the last a successful title defense in the Senior PGA Championship in May.

Olin Browne has second after a 65 at Poppy Hills.

Mexico’s Esteban Toledo was third at 6 under after a 66 at Pebble Beach.

Fred Couples birdied the 18th at Pebble Beach for a 66 to join Woody Austin at 5 under. Austin had a 70 at Pebble Beach, the site of the final round.

Tom Watson was 3 under after a 65 at Pebble Beach. The 66-year-old Watson birdied the first four holes and six of the first seven. He added birdies on 14 and 15, but dropped a stroke on 16. Watson won the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and took the PGA Tour’s Bing Crosby event at the course in 1977 and 1978.

First-round leaders Tom Byrum and Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik struggled. Byrum had a 73 at Poppy Hills to fall into a tie for ninth at 3 under, and Parnevik was tied for 15th at 2 under after a 75 at Pebble Beach.

Maggert was even par after a 69 at Pebble Beach. He leads the tour with four victories, winning three of his last six starts.

Davis Love III was 2 over after a 70 at Pebble Beach. He won the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship last month to become the third-oldest champion in tour history at 51 years, 4 months, 10 days.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames sits T6 at 4-under while fellow Canadian Rod Spittle finished 1-under on the day to reach T21 at even-par.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Jesper Parnevik birdied three of his last four holes Friday at Poppy Hills for a share of the lead with Tom Byrum in the Champions Tour’s First Tee Open.

Parnevik had a 5-under 66. Byrum birdied the par-5 18th at Pebble Beach for a 5-under 67.

Parnevik had six birdies and one bogey. The 50-year-old Swede is winless in 12 starts on the 50-and-over tour after winning five times on the PGA Tour.

The 54-year-old Byrum had five birdies in a bogey-free round. He was second last year, a stroke behind John Cook, and is winless in 62 career senior starts.

Mark McNulty was third at 4 under after a 68 at Pebble Beach, the site of the final round.

Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle and Woody Austin shot 68 at Poppy Hills to reach 3 under. Montgomerie is coming off a victory two weeks ago in England in a European Senior Tour event.

Jeff Maggert opened with a 74 at Poppy Hills. He leads the tour with four victories – winning three of his last six starts – and tops the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Davis Love III had a 75 at Poppy Hills. He won the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship last month to become the third-oldest champion in tour history at 51 years, 4 months, 10 days.

Cook had a 72 at Poppy Hills.

ENDICOTT, N.Y. – Playing with the poise of a champion, Jeff Maggert chalked up yet another win on the Champions Tour.

Maggert won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open on Sunday for his fourth victory of the year, closing with a 6-under 66 to beat Paul Goydos by two strokes.

Maggert started the final round two shots off the lead and had caught up at the turn after a flurry of five birdies in the first nine holes.

“A great win,” said Maggert, who finished at 14-under 202. “I played just like I wanted to on the front nine, tried to put some distance between me and the rest of the guys and let `em try to catch me.

“Not so many birdies on the back nine, but I kind of hung in there, didn’t make any mistakes and finished it off.”

Maggert won the Regions Tradition in May and the U.S. Senior Open in July, both major championships, and took the Shaw Charity Classic three weeks ago in Canada. Sunday’s victory vaulted him into the lead in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, 119 points ahead of Colin Montgomerie, who skipped the tournament because of commitments in Europe.

The 51-year-old Texan’s second straight 68 on Saturday put him in good position for another triumph, and he took advantage in a big way with six birdies in a bogey-free round. The win was worth $285,000 and boosted Maggert’s earnings for the year to $2,094,976.

Goydos shot a 68. Corey Pavin (69), David Frost (64), Peter Senior (65), Jerry Smith (67) and Ian Woosnam (70) tied for third at 10 under.

Bernhard Langer, the winner last year and third in the Schwab Cup, failed to earn any points. He tied for 20th at 6 under after a 68.

Second-round leader Rod Spittle (74) of Canada, bidding for his second career victory, couldn’t keep the magic going that had placed him atop the leaderboard after rounds of 68 and 66.

Fifty-year-old Scott McCarron (75), who had a 64 on the second round and was tied for second with John Huston to start the day, faltered in his fourth Champions Tour event. He made only two birdies and a triple-bogey 7 at the 15th hole put a damper on his day. Huston finished at 9 under after a closing 72.

As usual, the ninth edition of this tournament came down to the closing holes. Trailing by one shot on a warm, humid afternoon, Goydos hit his tee shot into the large water hazard that lines the left side of the fairway at the difficult par-4 15th hole and had to take a penalty as Maggert paused to watch.

Goydos recovered to make bogey and lose just one shot, then missed a birdie putt inside 8 feet at No. 16 after driving over a cart path to the right of the green.

“That kind of opened a small crack in the door,” Maggert said. “I had a two-shot lead with three (holes) to play. I just tried to finish it off. I was driving the ball well enough to shoot a low score today. I just needed the putter to cooperate. I kind of pulled it all together.”

And Goydos didn’t, especially with his putter. He had 30 putts on each round, negating his strong play off the tee.

“The reality is I just didn’t make enough putts to compete with Jeff,” Goydos said. “I’m not going to look back on this week and say, `Man, that drive at 15 killed me.’ “

Pavin tied Goydos at 12 under with a brilliant pitch for birdie from off the fringe at the par-3 17th. Moments later, the smile on Pavin’s face disappeared when he hit his tee shot into the water hazard at No. 18. He then walked the fairway with head down, frustrated at a lost opportunity.

Maggert stayed out of trouble over the final three holes and was home-free when Goydos missed a birdie putt at No. 18.

Maggert, two shots behind Spittle at the start of play, birdied the first three holes to reach 11 under and added two more before the turn. He chipped to a foot at the par-5 eighth hole and rolled in a 10-foot putt at No. 9.

The surge continued at No. 10 when Maggert rolled in a 40-foot putt to reach 14 under, two shots clear of Goydos.

Goydos, who began the day tied for fourth with Maggert, Woosnam and Stephen Ames, also started with a flurry of five birdies on the front side, but he, too, faltered at No. 7, making bogey. A birdie at the par-5 12th had Goydos back within one of the lead at 13 under.

Now, the Champions Tour takes a three-week break before the final push to the Schwab Cup Championship, and that means more golf for Maggert – with 11-year-old son Jake.

“It’s going to be tough the last five tournaments,” Maggert said. “Those two guys (Montgomerie and Langer) play good every week. This three-week break is going to be good, a little bit of a rest.”

Canadian Stephen Ames shot even-par in the final round to finish at 8-under for a share of 12th place.

ENDICOTT, N.Y. – For Canadian Rod Spittle, just playing on the Champions Tour at age 60 is old hat that never gets old. Now, he finds himself in a most unusual place – alone in the lead for the first time heading to Sunday.

Spittle shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead over tour newcomer Scott McCarron (64) and John Huston (68) after the second round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open. Spittle was at 10-under 134.

Huston, the 2011 champion, is trying to become the first two-time winner in the event that started in 2007.

Jeff Maggert (68), Stephen Ames (64), Ian Woosnam (69) and first-round co-leader Paul Goydos (70) were tied for fourth at 8 under, with Corey Pavin (66) and Willie Wood (69) another shot behind.

Spittle, a star at Ohio State in the late 1970s with Joey Sindelar and John Cook, turned pro at age 49 after working as a corporate insurance executive for 25 years. He won the 2010 AT&T Championship, 106 starts ago.

“I was home being a husband and a dad,” said Spittle, who wanted to watch his three children grow up instead of traveling and living out of a suitcase. “We’ve won all of one time out here. It’s very fun to have a chance to win. The reason I still play is I think I can win again.”

Spittle, who had a 68 on the opening round, had four birdies and a bogey on the front nine, barely missing a fifth birdie when his putt at the par-3 seventh hole stopped at the lip and didn’t drop. He had two more birdies and another bogey over the first five holes on the back side, then vaulted into the lead with an eagle at the par-4 No. 16, his chip from 65 yards bouncing twice on the green before hitting the flag and dropping in the hole.

“Folks started jumping up and down, so we guessed right,” Spittle said with a chuckle. “I’ve played very solid this summer, been very consistent the last five or six weeks. We’ll see if we can have some more fun tomorrow.”

Right behind was McCarron, playing just his fourth event on the Champions Tour since turning 50 in July. He made up considerable ground on the leaderboard as he chases his first victory and said playing in the final group with Schwab Cup points leader Colin Montgomerie at the Shaw Charity Classic at Calgary, Alberta in early August did wonders for his game.

“It’s been a long time,” said McCarron, who had three PGA Tour victories, the last at the 2001 BellSouth Classic. “I learned a lot just being in the final group with Colin on Saturday. When you don’t get in tournaments on the PGA Tour, you play once a month, once every two months, and you miss every cut by a shot, that’s not a lot of fun.

“Being out here, knowing there’s no cut, I’m having fun playing golf again,” said McCarron, who has overcome surgery for a bone spur and torn ligaments in his left thumb in 2012 and right elbow surgery in 2006. “I’m healthy, I’m happy and I’m in better shape now than I’ve ever been.”

Montgomerie is not playing for a second straight week because of commitments in Europe, giving Maggert and Bernhard Langer a chance to take over the top spot. Montgomerie has 2,873 points, Maggert 2,707 and Langer 2,604 in what has become a three-way competition with four more events until the Schwab Cup Championship in November.

Langer, who won here last year, plummeted with three bogeys in the last six holes Saturday to finish with his second straight 71 and at 2 under is likely out of contention for a top-10 finish and a chance to gain in the points race.

Maggert isn’t

“I need to be a little more aggressive on the front nine tomorrow, make four or five birdies if I can, and set myself up for a good finish,” said Maggert, who birdied the three par-5s on the front side but also had a pair of bogeys.

A bogey on his final hole after seven birdies put a frown on Pavin’s face. Still, he was just three shots behind and playing well.

“Tomorrow, I’ve got to go out and probably shoot another score like that to have a chance,” said the 55-year-old Pavin, who has 15 PGA Tour wins but just one on the senior tour, three years ago. “We’ll just see. I’m in a position where I can make a run, hopefully.”

Just like the opening round, conditions on the narrow, tree-lined 6,974-yard En-Joie Golf Club course were ideal, with partly cloudy skies, temperatures around 80, and just the hint of a breeze.