Birmingham, AL (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Sutherland used a 6-under 66 in Friday's second round to join first-round leader Jeff Maggert in the lead at the first Champions Tour major of the season, the Regions Tradition.
Maggert used a late push to remain in a share of the lead as he carded his second straight 5-under 67 at Shoal Creek Club. The duo finished 36 holes three strokes clear of the field at 10-under-par 134.
Sutherland has never won on the Champions Tour, while Maggert's lone win came at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic last season.
Michael Allen is the next closest competitor to the leaders. He also shot a 67 and is alone in third at 7-under 137.
Defending champion Kenny Perry (69) is tied for fourth and five shots back at minus-5. He is joined there by two-time winner Fred Funk (69) and reigning Charles Schwab Cub champion Bernhard Langer (66).
Sutherland did most of his work early on as he got off to a hot start with a pair of birdies at two and three. The 50-year-old gave one of those shots back with a bogey at four, but he rattled off three straight birdies from six to get to minus-4 for the day.
Around the turn, Sutherland drained an eagle putt at the par-5 11th and he became the first player to hit 10-under.
After a trio of pars from 12, Sutherland tripped to his second bogey at No. 15, but two holes later he responded with another gain at the par-5 17th. Sutherland finished his day with a par and held the clubhouse lead.
"I just hit a lot of good tee shots and I made a lot of nice putts," Sutherland said of his round. "I thought I played pretty smart today. But I gave myself a lot of opportunities today, probably a lot more opportunities than I did yesterday and I just happened to make a few and didn't get myself in too much trouble for the most part."
Maggert was up and down early on. A birdie on three was canceled out by back- to-back bogeys at four and five. However, he responded with birdies at six and seven to get back into red numbers for the day.
Following three straight pars around the turn, Maggert also made an eagle putt at No. 11. Another gain at 14 had Maggert up to minus-9 and nipping at Sutherland's heels, but a bogey at 16 saw the 51-year-old fall back two shots.
Maggert would not be denied a share of the second-round lead, however, as he closed with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to join Sutherland at 10-under.
"It's kind of the opposite of yesterday. I had a good start on the front and today was a good finish on the back," said Maggert. "Just again putting was good, hit the ball close to the hole quite a bit. I didn't drive the ball particularly well today, but my misses were in places where I could kind of still manage to get some pars."
NOTES: Maggert has also won three times on the PGA Tour, while Sutherland has won once ... Maggert has notched three top-10 finishes on the Champions Tour this season. Sutherland has two, including a tie for second at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic ... Funk won this event in 2008 and 2010 ... Langer finished runner-up to Tom Lehman in 2012.
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