Haskins holds 36-hole lead at Champions q-school

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Steve Haskins' bogey-free 65 in Round 2 has given him a two-stroke lead at the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- 51-year-old Steve Haskins (El Paso, Texas), the son of late Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins, fired a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 on Wednesday and holds a two-stroke lead over Curt Byrum (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Jim Roy (Syracuse, N.Y.), Peter Senior (Queensland, Australia), John Ross (Freeman, W. Va.) and Terry Burke (Bethesda, Md.) at the midway point of the PGA TOUR's Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament on the Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale. Haskins' 36-hole score of 11-under 131 includes just one bogey and is the lowest score to par in a National Qualifying Tournament since 2004 when Delroy Cambridge and R.W. Eaks were both 11-under after two rounds at The King & Bear Course at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla.

Haskins played 16 years on the Nationwide Tour (1990-2005), but quit professional golf four years ago to join T&T Staff Management, an El Paso-based employee leasing company. On the Nationwide Tour, Haskins' lone official victory came at the 1991 New England Classic. He also won the rain-shortened Ozarks Open in 2001, an unofficial victory on that Tour because players did not complete 54 holes. Haskins made 370 appearances in his Nationwide Tour career, easily the most by a professional. He also played in a couple of U.S. Opens and several PGA TOUR events, but never quite reached the big stage on a full-time basis, reaching the final stage of qualifying school 14 times in 17 years.

"It's always nice to not have any bogeys. I played pretty steady and didn't have any hiccups," Haskins said after his round. "It's been awhile since I've done this. I've got a good job where I'm making some good money. This is a different atmosphere, but it's still tough."

With near perfect scoring conditions for the second consecutive day, the field scoring average for Wednesday on the par-71 course was 70.474 compared to 70.603 yesterday. There have been 29 eagles made over the first two rounds, including Ted Schulz (Louisville, Ky.) making consecutive eagles on the par-5 9th and 10th holes en route to a 6-under 65 today.

"They were both reachable holes. I hit 3-wood on the green on No. 9 and made a 15-footer and then at No. 10, I hit a big drive and a 7-iron to about three feet and made the putt," Schultz said.

In addition to Schultz, the winner of the 1989 Southern Open and 1991 Nissan Los Angeles Open on the PGA TOUR (7th), and Byrum, this year's field also includes a number of notable PGA TOUR and Champions Tour winners. Here is where those players stand after the second round: Bruce Vaughan (T8), David Peoples (T11), Ronnie Black (T11), Keith Clearwater (T11), R.W. Eaks (T17), John Harris (T17), Ron Streck (T17), Chip Beck (T26), Trevor Dodds (T26) , Mark W. Johnson (T38), Jay Don Blake (T43), Mike Nicolette (T48), Denis Watson (T56), Wayne Grady (T59), Bobby Clampett (T59), John Morse (T59), Gary Hallberg (T59) and James Mason (T67). Robert Thompson, last year's q-school medalist, is tied for 48th place.

There will be no cut in the 72-hole qualifier. At the end of four rounds, the top 5 finishers earn fully-exempt status for the 2010 season, while the next seven players will be conditionally exempt. In addition, the top 30 finishers and ties will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on the Champions Tour next year. The $200,000 purse features a $30,000 check for first place.