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Haas has a 65 to share lead with Stadler, James in Florida

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From the Associated Press

Champions Tour player of the year Jay Haas shot a seven-under 65 on Saturday at Boca Raton, Fla., for a share of the second-round lead in the Allianz Championship with first-round leader Craig Stadler and England’s Mark James.

“I’d love to play as well as I did today for the rest of my life,” Haas said. “It was just a nice round of golf. I drove the ball really well, hit a lot of good iron shots, made some real nice putts.”

Stadler followed his opening 63 with a 70 to join Haas and James (69) at 11-under 133 on the Old Course at Broken Sound. Morris Hatalsky (67) was a stroke back, and Dana Quigley (65), Brad Bryant (67) and Andy Bean (69) were nine under.

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Nick Price, making his Champions Tour debut after turning 50 on Jan. 28, was two under after his second 71.

Haas, a six-time winner in 36 starts on the 50-and-over tour, had eight birdies and a bogey. Stadler, winless the last two seasons after topping the leaderboard eight times in his first two years on the tour, had five birdies and three bogeys.

“Pretty much sloppy would sum it up very well,” Stadler said. “Everything was kind of ugly. Fortunately, I made a couple of birdies.”

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Karrie Webb had 10 birdies in a course-record 62 and moved into a share of the lead at the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters with fellow Australian Michelle Ellis.

Webb, who won last week’s Australian Open at Royal Sydney, will be looking for her sixth win in the Masters at Gold Coast.

“It was one of the best putting rounds I’ve had for a long time,” said Webb, who started the round seven shots behind Ahn Sun-ju of South Korea. “I think I could have putted with my eyes shut and it still would have gone in. I made just about everything I looked at.”

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Webb and Ellis are at 15-under 201, one better than Shin Ji-yai, who shot a 66. Ahn had a 72 to fall into a tie for fourth.

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The Presidents Cup appears headed to Harding Park in 2009, the first of what probably will be several marquee events held at the municipal course in San Francisco during a 10-year span, a PGA Tour official said Saturday.

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