Tway in front at Montreal Championship
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sainte-Julie, QC (Sports Network) - Bob Tway fired a 7-under 65 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Montreal Championship.
Tway's round, the lowest of the event so far, featured six consecutive birdies at one point and moved him to 9-under 135.
An eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, Tway has never captured a title on the Champions circuit. His best finish this season was a tie for 21st at the Senior PGA Championship in late May.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I haven't won a golf tournament in a long time. Last time I won a golf tournament was the 2003 Canadian Open," Tway said. "So maybe there will be some good thoughts, I don't know. But you know, I think that's why we play. I haven't played like I think I'm capable of playing since I've been out here but that's just the nature of the game."
Now Tway's in good position to contend for his first victory on the senior tour, though a solid field is chasing him.
He is one shot ahead of Mark Calcavecchia, who carded a 5-under 67 at La Vallee du Richelieu Golf Club to move into second place at minus-8.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Four players share third place at minus-7 -- Champions Tour money leader Michael Allen (69), all-time Champions Tour wins leader Hale Irwin (68), first-round leader Russ Cochran (71) and Jay Don Blake (67).
Tway got off to a good start Saturday with a 10-foot birdie at his opening hole, and was stuck at minus-3 for a few holes. As he put it after the round, he "kind of parred my way around until the seventh hole."
It was at that hole, a par 5, that he began his run up the leaderboard. He said he used a 4-iron for his second shot and hit the pin, causing the ball to go to the back of the green. But that still set him up for a two-putt for birdie.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He drained a 10-footer for birdie at the eighth, then hit within a foot of the hole of the ninth. That birdie pushed him to 6-under as he went around the turn.
Tway continued his hot stretch on the back nine, where he said he hit a pitching wedge within three feet at the 10th and chipped close to the 11th hole. Those two birdies put him at minus-8.
The 53-year-old ended his run by draining a long birdie putt at the 12th.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You don't make six birdies in a row often, so that was nice," Tway said.
He actually got to 10-under with a birdie at the 17th, but a poor drive at the last led to a bogey. Still, it was enough to put him in the lead.
Calcavecchia put together a bogey-free round that included five birdies. He had also drained five birdies Friday, but two bogeys had prevented him from getting near first place.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Of the players in third place, Blake and Irwin enjoyed bogey-free rounds, while Cochran and Allen were held back by mistakes.
Blake's round was highlighted by an eagle at the seventh, while the 67-year- old Irwin made four birdies to stay in the hunt.
"When you're playing against guys that are still relatively young golf-wise, and have this great experience, and they still have a lot of their skill sets, yes, it's difficult," Irwin said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cochran lost his lead largely because of a double bogey at 11. He had made two birdies and one bogey to that point, but the double bogey dropped him to minus-5. He managed to regain those strokes with birdies at 12 and 16, but couldn't pick up more ground.
Allen was behind right from the start. He tripped to a double bogey at the second to dip to minus-2, and had made up that ground -- plus some -- by the time he reached the back nine. But he still had to cover a lot of ground, and consecutive birdies at 17 and 18 pulled him into a tie for third.
NOTES: Irwin owns 45 career Champions Tour wins, while the man in second place on the list, Lee Trevino, recorded 29...Gary Hallberg (68) and Jerry Pate (70) are tied for seventh at 6-under.