Bryant upholds family name at Valencia

Hours after his younger brother tied for the lead at the PGA tournament at Bay Hill, Brad Bryant charged into the lead of the Champions Tour event Saturday at Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita.

Bryant fired a five-under-par 67 to take a two-shot edge entering today’s final round of the AT&T; Champions Classic.

A dozen players were within three shots of Bryant, including last year’s winner, Tom Purtzer, along with Jay Haas and Bernhard Langer. The latter two had a seven-hole playoff, won by Langer, a week ago at the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach.

Bryant, 53, who won last year’s U.S. Senior Open on the 50-and-older tour, said he was pulling as hard for his brother 3,000 miles away as he was for himself.

Bart Bryant, 45, was tied with Tiger Woods and three others for the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

“If he wins, it’s worth a million [dollars] and we share,” quipped Brad, who’s playing for a $240,000 first prize at Valencia.

Then, as he turned serious and his eyes reddened, he added: “If Bart wins [today], it would be difficult for me to control my emotions.”

Brad Bryant dropped a 37-foot putt for eagle on the par-five 15th hole and also scored five birdies and two bogeys.

The birdies included one on the 18th, another par five, after he nearly holed his 65-yard approach shot, which would have given him a second eagle.

The scramble atop the leaderboard came amid fast-changing weather at the par-72 Valencia layout, a day that began warm, clear and breezy but turned chilly, rainy and calm.

“We had all four seasons today,” said John Cook, one of seven players at four under, three shots behind Bryant.

But Bryant said the shifting weather was a benefit, because it mostly eliminated the gusty winds that gave the players fits in the opening round Friday.

“The back nine was pretty ideal scoring conditions most of the time,” he said.

Nothing was ideal for Nick Price, however, as the first-round leader ballooned to a five-over 77 -- an 11-shot swing from his six-under 66 Friday. That left him one under for the tournament, six shots back.

Tying Bryant for the day’s best round was Mark McNulty, who also shot 67 to join the group at four under.

The five-player group at five under included Langer, the two-time Masters champion from Germany, who shot a 68 after a mediocre first few holes.

“I struggled a bit early on, but I got my game together, started hitting it a little bit better and made a few putts,” Langer said. “Early on it was a little frustrating, but that happens here really fast.”

He also said the rain did little to soften the slick, treacherous greens that help make Valencia one of the hardest courses on the Champions Tour.

Not that it bothered Bryant much; he one-putted the last six holes.

But he’ll tee off today in an unusual position: This is the first time he has had sole possession of the lead since joining the Champions Tour three years ago.

“Most of the [four] tournaments I’ve won, I’ve come from behind,” he said. “I don’t know how I’ll handle this.”

He’ll also have to overcome a minor oddity about the AT&T; Champions event: Only players with three-letter first names have won for the last 12 years.

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james.peltz@latimes.com