DeWitt Weaver birdied the last four holes Saturday in a 6-under-par 66 that gave him a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Home Depot Invitational.
Don January matched Weaver's effort and was four strokes off the lead after posting a score that bettered his age."I love it," said January, who is six months shy of his 68th birthday and who has now shot his age or better at least once in each of the last three years on the Senior PGA Tour. "It's nice to shoot it, but I try not to think about it because it gets too important."
Weaver used brilliant iron play to birdie the final four holes at the TPC at Piper Glen from 3 feet, 13 feet, 5 feet and 18 inches. His 10-under 134 total put him three shots ahead of Walter Morgan and John D. Morgan.
"I had to ask what I shot when I was through," Weaver said. "I just got in some sort of zone coming in."
January wasn't the only member of the pushing-70 set to defy his years Saturday, when shifting winds of up to 25 mph buffeted Piper Glen's 6,774-yard, hilly layout.
Arnold Palmer, who will turn 68 in September, continued to gain momentum in his recovery from prostate cancer. Palmer, who hadn't broken 81 in any event since undergoing surgery in January, backed up his opening-round 75 with a 72 on the course he designed.
But while Palmer is 13 shots off the lead heading into the final round of the $900,000 event, January is in realistic position for his 18th victory on the 50-and-over circuit.
January didn't flinch when asked about his chances of winning on tour for the first time since 1987.
"I don't know why not," he said. "It would have to be special circumstances. I don't play nearly as well as I used to play. But I shot a good round today. So if I can do it today, why can't I do it tomorrow?"
The oldest winner in the history of the Senior PGA Tour was Mike Fetchick, who celebrated his 63rd birthday with a victory in the 1985 Hilton Head Seniors Invitational.
Weaver, sitting atop a leader board heading into the final round of a tournament for the first time since 1994, isn't about to count out January.
"Are you kidding me?" he said. "Boy, he can play. Right now, it's in my hands, but tomorrow, you never know."
Weaver, whose lone Senior Tour victory came in 1991, has just one top-10 finish this year, and that came in the first week of February. He has never had a three-shot lead heading into the final round of a pro event.
"I can't tell you how I'm going to react tomorrow," he said, "but I feel good about it."
John Morgan, who led by two shots after the first round, had five birdies and four bogeys Saturday in a 71. Walter Morgan birdied five of his first eight holes on the way to a 67.
Walter Morgan has three career victories on the tour as well as four top-10 finishes in his last five events.
"It was tough out there today. The wind was tricky," he said. "For some reason I like the wind. The wind blows, I play better."
January was tied with Kermit Zarley, Jim Dent and Larry Gilbert. Zarley shot a 69 and Dent and Gilbert both had 70s.
DIVOTS: Weaver's 36-hole total tied the tournament record set by Bob Murphy in 1995. . . . Defending champion Graham Marsh was at 1-over 145 after a 72. . . . The biggest slide of the day belonged to Tony Jacklin, who got it to 7-under through seven holes but had two double-bogeys and one bogey the rest of the way. He wound up with a 74 that left him at 142.