ALOHA, Ore. -- Peter Jacobsen leads the tournament he helped bring to his home state.
Jacobsen shot an 6-under 66 Friday in the JELD-WEN Tradition to move to 9 under, one stroke ahead of Bruce Lietzke, after two rounds of the Champions Tour’s last major of the year.
Jacobsen was instrumental in relocating the Tradition to the Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club last year, but he wasn’t able to play the inaugural event because at 49 he was too young.
Now, as a rookie on the Champions Tour, Jacobsen already has a major - he won the U.S. Senior Open in St. Louis.
‘It feels right,’ he said after his round Friday. ‘It feels like that is what I should be doing.’
Lietzke had a 67 to head into the third round at 8 under. D.A. Weibring was among five players at 6 under.
After Thursday’s first round was soaked by frequent downpours, conditions were mostly sunny and dry on Friday.
Weather was still a factor though, as most players teed off about an hour late for maintenance while greenskeepers did their best to improve the soggy course.
Vicente Fernandez, one of three leaders at the start of the day, was also 6 under for the tournament with a 1-under 71 Friday. But it wasn’t without a struggle.
Fernandez said he nearly pulled out after a pain that started in his neck on the first day spread down his back. He had treatment both days.
‘It was much more pleasant today with the sun shining,’ he said.
Jose Maria Canizares, who had the lead after the first round with Fernandez and Bruce Summerhays, was also among those at 6 under.
Weibring took advantage of the delay Friday morning to watch his son, Matt, compete in the PGA Tour’s Buick Championship.
Matt Weibring, 24, was tied for second after the opening round of the tournament, formerly known as the Greater Hartford Open. On Friday, he fell off the leader board, but still made the cut.
The younger Weibring is playing on a sponsor’s exemption and is competing in just his third PGA Tour event. His father won the tournament in 1996 with his then-16-year-old son in the gallery.
‘I’m sitting here right now watching the `tourcast’ and he bogeyed the first two holes,’ Weibring said. ‘I’m sure he was a little nervous.’
The elder Weibring kept up with his son’s progress during play on Thursday through his wife, who got text-message updates on her cell phone. And the two had talked frequently.
Did the younger Weibring have any advice for dad?
‘He just told me to play well,’ the elder Weibring said. ‘But the focus isn’t on me right now, it’s on him, and his future.’
Jacobsen won the Greater Hartford Open last year, but chose not to defend his title there so he could compete in the Tradition, which he lobbied for after 14 years in Arizona.
Jacobsen is a Portland native and went to the University of Oregon. Peter Jacobsen Productions, the golfer’s sports management firm, runs the Tradition, sponsored by Oregon window and door maker JELD-WEN.
‘It’s so fun for me to be able to do this,’ he said.
For his first season of eligibility on the Champions Tour, Jacobsen was slowed by hip surgery. He had to withdraw from two tournaments before his dramatic win in the U.S. Senior Open, when rain forced the players to put in 36 holes on Sunday.
On Friday there was no sign of any lingering pain. Jacobsen easily sank a 5-foot putt on the 18th hole to the cheers of the crowd.
‘I promised everybody a great tournament and I want to make good on it,’ he said.
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