Naples, FL – Kenny Perry fired an impressive 10-under 62 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the second round of the ACE Group Classic.
Perry finished two rounds at 18-under 126 and obliterated the former tournament record by four shots. He is three shots clear at the Talon Course at TwinEagles Golf Club.
Perry set a new Champions Tour record for 36-hole, lowest score in relation to par.
"So many great players have played this tour, and to be able to now say I've had the lowest 36 of all time is pretty neat," said Perry. "It's a neat accomplishment."
Larry Mize, the first-round leader, posted a respectable five-under 67 on Saturday, but fell into second place at minus-15.
Reigning Champions Tour Player of the Year Tom Lehman carded a six-under 66 in round two. He is alone in third place at 14-under 130, which is one shot better than defending champion Bernhard Langer, who shot a seven-under 65 on Saturday.
This Saturday belonged to Perry.
He flew out of the gate with a 25-foot birdie putt at the first, then followed with a 30-footer for birdie at two.
"That really loosened me up, relaxed me, kind of really freed my game up. It was off and running," said Perry.
He rolled in an eight-footer for birdie at the fourth and kicked in a short birdie effort at the par-five sixth. After a nice par save at No. 7, Perry knocked a six-iron to 15 feet to set up birdie at the eighth.
Perry drained a six-foot birdie putt at the 10th, then tapped in a birdie putt at the par-five 13th. He made yet another 15-foot birdie putt, this time at the 14th, but three-putted the 15th green for the lone bogey of his round.
After the only hiccup in an otherwise sterling round, Perry built his cushion.
Perry hit a nine-iron to eight feet for a birdie at the 16th. He laid up at the par-five 17th and the decision paid off when he converted a three-footer for birdie.
He closed it out with a 12-foot birdie putt at the last for his place in the record books.
"Just seems like when I get it going, I get hungrier and want more, and I just get after it and seem to see how low I can go," said Perry. "When I putt good, I usually win. You can see it doesn't happen very often. So for whatever reason, it's going right now so we need to figure out a way to keep it going tomorrow."
Mike Goodes shot a four-under 68 Saturday and is fifth by himself at 11-under 133.
David Frost (66), Joey Sindelar (66), Bill Glasson (66), Jay Haas (68) and Russ Cochran (70) share sixth place at minus-10.
NOTES: Perry's only Champions Tour win came last year at the SAS Championship. His sister Kay died of breast cancer the Saturday night before his victory in 2011...Perry owns 14 PGA Tour titles...Tom Watson set the old 36-hole mark in 2002, then Langer matched the record last year...Last week's winner of the Allianz Championship, Corey Pavin, shot an even-par 72 and is tied for 41st at two-under par...With expected thunderstorms in the forecast Sunday afternoon, tee times were moved up an hour.
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