PITTSBURGH – Bernhard Langer made a short birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Jeff Sluman to win the Senior Players Championship on Sunday.

Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Sluman’s birdie attempt rolled just wide.

The victory was the 56-year-old Langer’s third of the year and his third major title on the Champions Tour. The two-time Masters champion shot an even-par 70 to finish at 15-under 265 at Fox Chapel.

Sluman had a bogey-free 65 to match Langer, but narrowly missed a birdie putt on the first playoff hole that would have won it.

Russ Cochran, who trailed by seven shots early in the final round, had a 67 to finish third at 14 under.

Defending champion Kenny Perry tied Langer for the lead heading into the back nine, but faded badly over the closing holes. Perry’s 69 left him two shots out of the playoff.

Langer nearly missed out on the playoff himself. He fought a balky putter much of the day only to hole a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th that lifted him into a tie with Sluman. The normally reserved German pumped his fist in disbelief after the ball dropped into the cup. He parred 18 to match Sluman at 15 under and escaped one more time when Sluman’s birdie attempt on the first playoff hole burned the right edge.

Sluman, the 1988 PGA champion, covered his hands in disbelief after the putt stayed out. Langer didn’t let the reprieve go to waste, birdieing the 18th on his third try to earn his first major title on the 50-and-over circuit since the 2010 Senior British Open.

It didn’t come easy for a player who started the day with a comfortable three-shot advantage over Perry.

The steady play that kept Langer atop the leaderboard for the better part of 54 holes abandoned him early in the round, opening the door for the rest of the field. Langer missed a short par putt at the par-4 fourth, and he turned the 295-yard par-4 seventh into an adventure when his pitch sailed over the green and his 5-foot comebacker for par popped off the back edge of the cup.

Perry, who promised to go into “attack mode” to chase down his good friend, had little trouble tracking Langer down. He pulled even with a birdie at the seventh and did it again at the ninth, when he bounced back from a bogey at the eighth by holing out from a greenside bunker for birdie.

A back-nine duel, however, never materialized. Both players started spraying shots – including an ugly double bogey for Langer at the par-4 12th – while Sluman quietly went about his business in the group ahead.

Sluman slowly reeled in the front-runners, taking the lead with a birdie on the par-4 14th and adding another at the par-4 16th while Perry and Langer faltered behind him.

The streaky Perry, trying to join Arnold Palmer as the only player to win consecutive Senior Players titles, cooled as the pressure mounted. He shot 3-over 38 on the back, failing to make a single birdie down the stretch as the crisp iron game that vaulted him into contention vanished.

Canada’s Jim Rutledge (72-70-74) and Rod Spittle (69-73-71) finished at 3-over 283 and tied for 54th.

PITTSBURGH – Bernhard Langer spent 45 anxious minutes Friday night wondering if the driver that he has used the last two years would be healthy enough to make it to work Saturday.

Fortunately, a Champions Tour club technician was able to find a replacement screw for the one that busted inside the clubhead at the end of Langer’s second round at the Senior Players Championship.

The “gamer” back in his ever steady hands, Langer moved closer to his third major title on the 50-and-over circuit, overcoming a slow start to shoot a 4-under 66 in the third round and stay in front of hard-charging Kenny Perry at Fox Chapel.

“There’s always slight doubts,” Langer said. “You’re putting something together. They say it’s the same, but you’re never sure it’s the same … I was convinced it was very close to the same. You don’t want it to get into your head.”

It hardly looked like Langer was bothered while moving to 15-under 195 through 54 holes at an event where he has five top-10 finishes but no victories. The two-time Masters hit 10 of 14 fairways and shot a 4-under 31 on the back nine to regain control after briefly losing the lead to Perry.

Perry, trying to join Arnold Palmer as the only player to win the Senior Players in consecutive years, was three behind after a 65 he allowed could have been even better. Still, the deficit is hardly daunting for Perry, who trailed Fred Couples by two heading into the final round last June only to emerge with the first major of his professional career.

“Hopefully, the results will be the same,” Perry said, laughing.

Russ Cochran, Joe Durant and Bill Glasson were four back. Cochran had a 63, the low round of the day. Durant shot 67, and Glasson had a 68.

Jeff Sluman was at 10 under following a 64 as the field began to spread out behind Langer.

While Langer’s driver was just fine when he walked to the first tee on Saturday, everything else in his game looked shaky early on. The 56-year-old German three-putted the first hole for bogey and couldn’t get up and down for par from a greenside bunker on the fifth.

With Perry rocketing up the leaderboard in front of him, the unflappable Langer regained control of the tournament.

A 30-foot birdie from the back of the green on the par-4 sixth got him going and he backed it up with another birdie on the seventh to bring him back to even par, setting the stage for the strong back nine. After finding himself one shot behind Perry at the turn, Langer put on a clinic. He birdied the 12th then ran off three more birdies from Nos. 14-16, all of them on putts inside 15 feet.

Langer has been one of the most dominant players on the Champions Tour since making his debut in 2007. He has won 20 times since turning 50, including the Senior British Open and the U.S. Senior Open in 2010. He has challenged frequently at the Senior Players, where he’s never finished worse than 13th in six starts, including a tie for eighth behind Perry last June.

This time Langer finds himself in the role of leader, but he’ll have an eyeful of Perry on Sunday after the streaky Kentuckian put together another scorching round at the par 70 layout.

Perry bounced back a methodical 70 in the opening round with a 63 on Friday. He followed it with a roller-coaster 65 that included six birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.

“I need to make that a little bit better tomorrow,” Perry said. “I need to clean it up a little bit and put on a little bit of pressure.”

A birdie on No. 14 seemed to have Perry poised for his second straight 63, but he cooled over the closing stretch, bogeying the 16th after his tee shot landed against a tree. Playing into the wind on the uphill par-5 18th, he settled for par, leaving himself and the rest of the field with some work to do to catch Langer.

Not that Langer is taking anything for granted.

“I still have got to shoot under par tomorrow,” he said. “I feel Kenny Perry is going to go under par. There’s still 18 holes to play. That’s a lot of golf.”

Maybe, but Perry knows Langer isn’t going to come back to the pack. Perry estimated it would take a 63 to make things interesting on Sunday. Anything less could turn the round into a victory lap for his good friend.

“If he kicks my butt, I’ll shake his hand, give him a hug, whatever,” Perry said. “We’re going to go out and compete and see where the chips fall.”

The Canadians didn’t make up any ground Saturday. Rod Splittle dropped three spots into a tie for 60th at 3-over after a second round 71. Jim Rutledge fell nine spots into a tie for 66th at 6-over.

PITTSBURGH – Bernhard Langer’s game is in splendid shape. His driver? Not so much.

Whether the two-time Masters champion can lock down his first Senior Players Championship could depend on how he deals with a backup.

Langer shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to take the lead at the halfway point of the third major on the Champions Tour, birdieing No. 18 to take a two-shot lead over Bill Glasson and Doug Garwood. Langer was at 11-under 129 as he searches for his first victory at the Senior Players after five top-10 finishes.

Rather than cruising, however, the 56-year-old Langer is wary after noticing the driver he has had in his bag for the last two years had started to rattle after teeing off on 18.

“I’m going ‘Wow, what’s the rattling for?”’ said Langer, a two-time winner this season. “And I grabbed the head, it was loose. So something broke inside the screw that holds the shaft in, I think it’s broken.”

It was one of the few things that went wrong for Langer on a day vulnerable Fox Chapel barely put up a fight. Doug Garwood, tied for the first-round lead, and Bill Glasson were two strokes back. Garwood birdied two of the last three holes, and Glasson had a 64.

Joe Durant, also tied for the first-round lead, was 8 under along with Michael Allen, John Riegger and Mark McNulty. Defending champion Kenny Perry moved into contention at 7 under with a 63, the low round of the tournament so far.

After being allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls during the opening round following several days of rain, players were forced to play it down everywhere but the 14th hole at the 6,710-yard layout.

It did little to affect the deluge of low scores. More than half the 81-player field was at even par or better.

Through two rounds, nobody was lower than Langer. He opened with a 65 and used a little bit of luck to jump start his round Friday. He attempted to drive the green on the uphill 295-yard par-4 seventh only to watch his ball sail into the left rough. His pitch from 25 yards bounded onto the green and into the cup for an unlikely eagle.

“I didn’t have much of a shot,” Langer said. “I short-sided myself and landed the pitch just perfect and it rolled right in. That was a bonus.”

The attack kept coming. He added four more birdies – all from inside 12 feet – including tricky left-to-right putt from 8 feet on the par-5 18th that gave Langer a two-shot cushion. Langer’s two-round score of 129 is the second-lowest at the midway point in a tournament that dates to 1983.

Yet Langer isn’t exactly blowing away the competition. There are some bold-faced names behind him, and some unfamiliar ones too.

Garwood is a journeyman who spent most of his prime selling insurance when he wasn’t playing on mini-tours. Yet he has gaining confidence with each passing week on the 50-and-over circuit. He nearly won at the Principal Charity Classic in Iowa last month before falling in a playoff.

The 51-year-old joked after the first round he wanted to lower expectations heading into the third major tournament of his Champions career, figuring if they’re low enough he’ll have no trouble surpassing them. Consider it done.

“Every day is like Disneyland for me,” Garwood said.

He opened with back-to-back birdies before giving both shots right back with consecutive bogeys. Undaunted, he kept firing at the slow, damp greens that have turned the tournament into so much target practice. He ended his round by birdieing the 18th for the second straight day.

Garwood was later joined by Glasson at 9 under after Glasson shot one of four 64s on a course that doesn’t look like it will firm up anytime soon.

That could turn the weekend into a shootout, which fits Perry just fine. A year ago he began the march to his first major title by shooting a 63 in the second round. He did the same Friday, though he could have gone even lower. He missed a 6-footer for birdie on No. 15 and appeared stunned when his 4-footer on No. 17 slid left of the hole.

Those are two putts the perpetually streaky Perry would like to have back. He spent the first two days playing alongside Langer. Now he’ll spend the next two chasing the meticulous German who already has two Champions Tour majors to his credit.

“He’s playing flawless golf,” Perry said of Langer. “He’s hitting it perfect, so he’s going to be a hard man to catch.”

Canada’s Rod Spittle (69-73) and Jim Rutledge (72-70) hold a share of 57th spot at 2-over 142.

PITTSBURGH – Joe Durant is trying desperately to hold onto his old job on the PGA Tour.

If it doesn’t work out, his new gig is looking more promising all the time.

The Champions Tour rookie shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday in the first round of the Senior Players Championship, making seven birdies against one bogey to join David Frost and Doug Garwood atop the leaderboard at defenseless Fox Chapel.

Bernhard Langer, Corey Pavin, Larry Mize, Steve Pate, Olin Browne, Bart Bryant, Peter Fowler and Wes Short Jr. shot 65. Colin Montgomerie, the Senior PGA winner last month, opened with a 5-under 30 on the front nine before fading to a 69.

The 50-year-old Durant, a four-time winner on the main tour, is trying to split time between both circuits this summer. The pressure to earn enough money while making limited PGA Tour starts has been draining. In a way, the 50-and-over tour is allowing him to recharge.

“I’m trying so hard to make magic happen in one week (on the PGA Tour) and it’s just not working out very well,” Durant said.

Durant tied for 31st last week in Connecticut in the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship, a finish he believes should have been higher had he not slogged through the second and third rounds.

“It easily could have been a top-10 week if I had just managed my game a little better Friday and Saturday,” Durant said.

There were no such issues Thursday. Durant holed out from the greenside bunker on the par-3 third, kick-starting his round. He ended it with a sliding left-to-right birdie putt on the par-5 18th for his 64, matching his best round since joining the Champions Tour after turning 50 in April.

“It all comes down to making putts,” Durant said. “If you make putts, the game is real easy. If you’re burning edges, it’s not that easy.”

Frost and Garwood quickly joined Durant atop the leaderboard.

Frustrated after a middling 39th-place finish at the Encompass Championship last week in Illinois, Frost ditched the shafts on his irons for the first time in four years, trading them in for something that offered a little more forgiveness. The move paid off with a near flawless round in which he missed only one fairway and three greens.

“I almost want to kick myself for not (switching shafts) earlier,” Frost said.

Garwood, a two-time All-American during his college career at Fresno State, has finally found a home on the Champions Tour after spending most of his adult life on pro golf’s fringe. He never played in a PGA Tour event and sold insurance among other things before trying to give the 50-and-over circuit a shot last spring.

After some initial struggles, it is paying off handsomely.

Garwood lost a playoff four weeks ago in the Principal Charity Classic and backed it up with a runner-up finish last weekend. Garwood’s round included three straight birdies on Nos. 12-14, including a 35-footer on the par-4 14th. His birdie attempt on the 18th stopped one roll short of giving him the lead.

Being near the lead is becoming familiar territory for Garwood, though he has done his best to downplay his steady rise.

“I’ve always believed the lower the expectation, the easier it is to meet,” he said, laughing. “There’s enough pressure just being out there with all the hoopla. So I just go out and try to shoot my best … trying to shoot 64, it just kind of happens.”

Defending champion Kenny Perry, looking for his fourth major title in the last year, failed to take advantage of the prime scoring conditions. Playing his eighth tournament in nine weeks, Perry shot an even-par 70.

Perry’s score was actually one better than the 71 he posted in the opening round last year. Perry responded last June by shooting a combined 20 under over the final 54 holes to edge Fred Couples and Duffy Waldorf for the first major pro title of his lengthy career.

The 53-year-old Kentuckian, the Tradition winner last month in the first senior major of the year, doubted Fox Chapel would be as generous this time around, but with wide open fairways and damp greens, it wasn’t a fair fight. More than half the 81 players finished at even par or better. Canada’s Rod Spittle was one of those players. He shot a 1-under 69 and was five shots off the lead, tied for 29th after the opening-round. The other Canadian in the field, Jim Rutledge, finished at 2-over and was tied for 61st.

GLENVIEW, Ill. – After struggling with his putting much of the round, Tom Lehman made a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win the Champions Tour’s Encompass Championship.

The 55-year-old Lehman closed with a 2-under 70 at North Shore and had a 15-under 201 total for his eighth senior title and first since 2012. He rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 – his only dropped strokes of the week – with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, parred the par-3 17th and won on the par-4 18th.

“It wasn’t my very best performance today, but it was good enough,” Lehman said.

Michael Allen and Kirk Triplett tied for second, a stroke back. Allen shot 67, and Triplett had a 68.

Lehman, the 1996 British Open winner, opened with rounds of 65 and 66 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round. He ended a 27-event victory drought and won $270,000.

“The check is sweet, but the trophy is sweeter,” Lehman said.

His last win was the Schwab Cup Championship at the end of the 2012 season.

Lehman, who was bogey-free and made 13 birdies in the first two rounds, parred the first 11 holes before birdieing No. 12.

“I had a rough start and wasn’t putting like I did the first two days,” Lehman said. “It put me in a bit of a bind. After 14, I told my caddie, `Let’s have the best four holes of the week.'”

Lehman sank an 18-footer on the 15th and a 6-footer on the 16th to get back to 14 under.

Triplett birdied the first, sixth, 13th and 16th holes in his bogey-free round. His approach on the final hole stopped in the back fringe. He missed a 20-foot birdie attempt.

“I said early in the week that 15 under would win and 15 under wins,” Triplett said. “I had some chances, missed a couple and made a couple. I had a pretty tough putt on 18 coming down that hill to keep it on line. So, next week.”

Allen birdied three of the last four holes, with his approach on 18 hitting the flagstick and stopping 4 inches from the cup.

Doug Garwood was fourth at 13 under after a 66. He played the first 10 holes in 4 under and briefly grabbed a share of the lead at 13 under with an eagle on the 16th hole, but three-putted for bogey on the 17th to fall back.

Russ Cochran took advantage of a swing adjustment to shooting the best round of the tournament, an 8-under 64 that left him in a tie for sixth at 10 under.

“I got up on my toes more,” Cochran said. “Seems like a little thing, but it seemed like it did the trick.”

Colin Montgomerie was 10 under after a 70.

Hale Irwin matched his age with a 69 to tie for 39th at 3 under.

Canada’s Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge finished tied for 49th and tied for 73rd respectively.

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Tom Lehman opened a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Champions Tour’s Encompass Championship, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 66 before play was suspended because of a thunderstorm.

Lehman had a 13-under 131 total at North Shore Country Club, playing the first 36 holes without a bogey. The 55-year-old Minnesotan won the last of his seven senior titles in 2012.

“It’s been a while since I had one bogey-free round, and to do two in a row is special,” Lehman said. “I haven’t missed many putts inside 6 feet. If you were to rate whether I’m making the most of my opportunities, I think you’d say I’m doing pretty well.”

The 1996 British Open winner chipped in from 20 feet for a birdie and made five putts, the longest from 7 feet, for his other birdies.

Thirty-one players were unable to finish the round.

Kirk Triplett, John Inman, Roger Chapman and Bart Bryant were 10 under. Triplett and Inman shot 67, Chapman had a 68, and Bryant had two holes left when play was washed out for the day. Bryant was 5 under for the day.

Triplett hit 14 greens, one-putted seven of them and chipped in for birdie on another.

“There are plenty of birdie chances here,” Triplett said about North Shore, hit by hard rain early in the week and another shower Saturday. “The greens are not going to firm up.”

Inman advanced to the quarterfinals in the 1983 U.S. Amateur at North Shore.

“I came out here and I didn’t remember a hole,” Inman said.

Michael Allen was four strokes back at 9 under, also with two holes left.

Colin Montgomerie, the Senior PGA Championship winner in his last tour start, was 5 under for the day and 8 under overall with two holes left.

Charles Schwab Cup points leader Bernhard Langer was 5 under with five holes to play.

Defending champion Craig Stadler was 1 over with two holes remaining.

Canada’s Rob Spittle shot 73 Saturday to place him among a group tied for 34th.

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Tom Lehman birdied four straight holes and finished with a bogey-free 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead Friday in the Champions Tour’s Encompass Championship.

Finishing on the front nine, Lehman birdied Nos. 4-7 and closed with two pars at North Shore Country Club. The 55-year-old Minnesotan nearly holed out for an eagle on the par-5 sixth, leaving a 6-inch putt, and ran in a 15-footer on the par-3 seventh.

He has struggled with his putting since winning the last of his seven senior titles in 2012.

“I’ve been living in this zone of second-guessing my reads, second-guessing my stroke because I misread so many putts,” said Lehman, whose best finish this season is a tie for third at the Tradition. “Then I become less committed to the putt and start putting bad strokes on them. It’s kind of a cycle. It’s been a very frustrating last couple of years in that way.”

Of his seven birdie putts, the longest were three from about 15 feet.

Doug Garwood and England’s Roger Chapman were a stroke back at 66, and Mark O’Meara, Sandy Lyle, Jeff Sluman, Michael Allen, Bart Bryant, Kirk Triplett and John Inman shot 67.

Chapman made four straight birdies early in his round, then birdied the 11th and 14th holes en route to his best score of the season. He switched caddies this week, using veteran Angel Monguzzi.

“I felt totally in control,” Chapman said. “There have been times this year I’ve been anxious. Today, I was very relaxed going around with Angel. He seemed to be saying the right things at the right time.”

Garwood, a playoff loser this month in the Principal Charity Classic in Iowa, chipped in from the rough on the 13th for one of his eight birdies.

“It gave me a boost as far as being comfortable with all the players,” Garwood said about the second-place finish in Iowa.

Canada’s Rod Spittle opened with a 68 and was tied for 11th heading into the weekend. The other Canadian in the field, Jim Rutledge, carded a 75.

Colin Montgomerie, the Senior PGA Championship winner in his last tour start, had a 69.

Charles Schwab Cup points leader Bernhard Langer shot 71. He had a double-bogey 7 on No. 6.

Defending champion Craig Stadler opened with a 73.

RIDGEDALE, Mo. – Jeff Sluman and Fred Funk teamed to win the Champions Tour’s Legends of Golf on Sunday, and Jim Colbert and Jim Thorpe topped the Legends Division for players 65 and older.

Sluman and Funk finished with a 6-under 48 at Top of the Rock, the first par-3 course used in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, to beat Jay Haas and Peter Jacobsen by a stroke.

The winners finished at 20-under 159. They opened with an 11-under 61 in better-ball play on the regulation Buffalo Ridge course and had a 50 on Saturday on the par-3 layout.

Haas and Jacobsen, the second-round leaders, finished with a 50.

Sluman and Funk had a 1-under 26 in the opening alternate-shot nine and closed with a 5-under 22 in the best-ball nine. Sluman also won last year, teaming with Brad Faxon in Savannah, Georgia.

In the nine-hole Legends finale, Colbert and Thorpe had a 4-under 27 in better-ball play for a three-stroke victory over Bruce Fleisher and Larry Nelson. Colbert and Thorpe finished at 11 under for 45 holes.

RIDGEDALE, Mo. – Jay Haas and Peter Jacobsen took the second-round lead Saturday in the Champions Tour’s Legends of Golf, teaming for a 6-under 48 on the par-3 Top of the Rock course.

Haas and Jacobsen played nine holes of alternate shot and nine of better ball at Top of the Rock, the first par-3 course used in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, after opening with a better-ball 62 on Friday on the regulation Buffalo Ridge layout. They had a 15-under 110 total.

Jeff Sluman and Fred Funk were second after a 50 on the par-3 course, the site of the final round Sunday.

In Legends Division for players 65 and older, the teams of Jim Colbert-Jim Thorpe and Bruce Fleisher-Larry Nelson shared the lead at 7-under 118. Colbert and Thorpe had a 2-under 52 on the par-3 course, and Fleisher and Nelson shot 56.

Craig Stadler and Kirk Triplett were third in the Champions Division, shooting a 64 at Buffalo Ridge. The teams of Tom Watson-Andy North and Tom Pernice Jr.-Bob Tway were tied for fourth at 11 under after rounds on the regulation course. Watson and North had a 65, and Pernice and Tway shot 64.

Pernice won the Principal Charity Classic last week in Iowa for his third senior title.

In the Legends Division, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player had a 66 at Buffalo Ridge to move into a tie for third with Butch Baird and Al Geiberger at 4 under. Baird and Geiberger had a 54 on the par-3 course.

RIDGEDALE, Mo. – Kenny Perry and Russ Cochran teamed to birdie the final three holes for a share of the lead with Jeff Sluman and Fred Funk on Friday in the Champions Tour’s Legends of Golf.

The leaders were at 10-under 61 after their better-ball rounds on the Buffalo Ridge course.

“For the most part we hung in there, got the ball in the fairway and had a couple chances most of the time,” Cochran said. “Kenny had the eye and when a guy’s got that, you want to get out of his way.”

In Savannah, Georgia, last year, Sluman teamed with Brad Faxon to win the Champions Division. Sluman turned to Funk after Faxon was unable to play because of previous commitment.

“We’re just really comfortable together, No. 1, but we got off to a really good start and that helped,” Funk said. “We made some really good putts.”

Other players opened at Top of the Rock, the first par-3 course used in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. The teams of Tom Watson-Andy North, Nick Faldo Eduardo Romero and Craig Stadler-Kirk Triplett had the best rounds there, finishing at 5-under 49 after nine holes of alternate shot and nine of better ball.

In the Legends Division for players 65 and older, Bruce Fleisher and Larry Nelson took the lead with a 62 at Buffalo Ridge. The teams of Jack Nicklaus-Gary Player, Lee Trevino-Mike Hill and Graham Marsh-John Bland shot 1-over 55 on the par-3 course, the site of the final rounds in each division.

“We never seemed to get the right club in our hand,” said Nicklaus, who designed the par-3 course. “All day

long we’re struggling with a club, even on the second nine. … We made two bogeys on the alternate shot because we didn’t have the right clubs.”

Play was delayed twice because of rain and lightning and players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls on the Buffalo Ridge course.

Perry and Cochran birdied four of the first five holes and eagled the par-5 eighth – Perry hit a hybrid to 6 feet – in a 6-under 29 on the front nine. The Kentucky duo also birdied No. 10 and closed with three more.

“Kenny came in there and really got things started,” Cochran said. “He just had a terrific front side, especially, and really the whole day. … He made many birdies and an eagle. Never really missed a shot. So as far as I was concerned, I was trying to fill in.”

Funk and Sluman played the first nine in 7-under 28 and added three birdies on the back nine.

“We both played really honestly solid golf all day,” Sluman said. “I think after 12 holes we each contributed like on six holes each, so we were just playing solid golf, hitting it down the middle and giving ourselves two birdie chances every hole.”

Sluman capped the round with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th, their fifth birdie putt of 20 feet for longer. Sluman and Funk each holed 40- and 30-foot birdie putts.

The teams of Jay Haas-Peter Jacobsen and Billy Andrade-Tommy Armour III shot 62 at Buffalo Ridge, and Tom Lehman-Bernhard Langer and Corey Pavin-Duffy Waldorf followed at 63.

Jim Colbert and Jim Thorpe were second in the Legends Division at 66. Butch Baird-Al Geiberger and Hubert Green-Allen Doyle shot 67.