Notebook: Cap Cana Championship, Round 2

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• The top four players on the Round 2 Cap Cana Championship leaderboard all have major championship credentials. Corey Pavin (1995 U.S. Open) holds his first Saturday lead on the Champions Tour. He has a one-shot margin over Nick Price (1992 PGA Championship, 1993 PLAYERS, 1994 British Open, 1994 PGA Championship) and a two-stroke margin over Fred Couples (1984, 1996 PLAYERS, 1992 Masters) and Larry Mize (1987 Masters).

• Here's some fun facts on tomorrow's final grouping:

• Pavin's 9-under-par 63 (9 birdies, no bogeys) was not only a course record on the Jack Nicklaus course at Punta Espada Golf Club, but also Pavin's best score since his personal best of 61 in Round 1 of the PGA TOUR's U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee in 2006. His 36-hole total of 13-under-par 131 here at Cap Cana this year easily eclipsed the two-day tournament record of 9-under 135 by Mark Wiebe in 2008.

• This is Pavin's first Saturday lead in his brief Champions Tour career. In the two-year history of The Cap Cana Championship, players leading or tied for the lead going into the last round have won both times. In his PGA TOUR career, Pavin has either led or been tied for the lead heading into the final round eight times and has gone on to win three tournaments. Here's full details in his PGA TOUR career:

• Couples' 6-under 66 today gives him 11 consecutive rounds in the 60s on the Champions Tour, tying him with Lee Trevino (1992) and Nick Price (2009) for second place on the all-time list of Most Consecutive Sub-70 rounds. Hale Irwin is the Champions Tour's all-time record holder with 13 straight scores in the 60s in 1999. Here's Couples by the numbers in his brief Champions Tour career:

• Couples shoots for Champions Tour history tomorrow. He's attempting to become the first player ever to claim three of his first four official starts on the circuit. Don January, Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus all won three of their first five official events on the Champions Tour. Couples is also trying to win his third consecutive start, something that's only happened seven times in the history of the circuit and not since his good friend Jay Haas did so in 2006 (Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, FedEx Kinko's Classic, Senior PGA Championship).

Related

Leaderboard: Round 2
Round 3 Tee Times
Round 2 Recap

• The winner of the Cap Cana Championship will receive 240 Charles Schwab Cup points in the season-long Schwab Cup race. Couples, the current leader in the Schwab Cup competition (691 points) is T3 after two rounds this week, just two strokes back of Corey Pavin who is 23rd in the current standings with 58 points. Nick Price, currently in second place in this week's event, is currently 17th in the standings with 82 points.

• With ideal scoring conditions for a second straight day, there were 14 scores under 70 and 50 of the 78 players in the field broke par. Saturday's stroke average was 71.718 vs. 71.705 on Friday. Overall, the cumulative stroke average through two rounds this year is 71.712 compared to 72.250 after two rounds last year.

• Tommy Armour III made a pair of eagles within a three-hole stretch on the back nine (Holes 10, 12) today and became the third player this year with a pair of eagles in a round. Jim Roy (Allianz Championship/Rd 1) and Gary Hallberg (Toshiba Classic/Rd. 1) both made two eagles in a round earlier this year.

• Before he tees off tomorrow, Jose Maria Canizares of Spain will be keeping an eye on the final-round leaderboard at the European PGA Tour's Andalucia Open. After three rounds of play in Malaga, his son, Gabriel, is in third position, just two strokes off the lead.

• Pavin's last victory outside of the United States came at the 1999 Martel Skins Game in Taiwan. Nick Price last won outside the United States at the 1999 Suntory Open in Japan. Fred Couples' last win outside the U.S. came at the 2000 Telus Skins Game in Canada.

• Thus far on the Champions Tour, leaders heading into the final round have gone on to win three of the four official events played.

• Both of the past champions at the 2010 Cap Cana Championship find themselves T21 after two rounds of this year's event.