Bryant takes command at En-Joie

Oh, what could have been for Bart Bryant. The newly minted Champions Tour player has battled a plethora of injuries throughout his career - so many that he claims he could pass an anatomy test despite minimal formal education on the matter - but managed to win three times on the PGA Tour along the way. The guy clearly has game, and it's a shame that he never got a chance to put it on full display to the world.

"He's world-class," his brother Brad, who plays the Champions Tour as well, said.

Bart turned 50 last November and as was allowed to play the 50-and-over circuit this year without needing to work his way through Q school, based on his position on the all-time PGA Tour money list. He hadn't contended too much prior to this week, but came to Binghamton with positive vibes after a T-4 in Minnesota two weeks ago.

Now, he's in his position for his first Champions Tour win. Bart fired a bogey-free 10-under 62 on Saturday at En-Joie GC, boosted by six birdies in his first seven holes, to surge to the top of the leader board and take a four-stroke lead over Corey Pavin (who fired a not-so-shabby Saturday 64 himself) into Sunday.

Bart's round was highlighted by his self-described shot of the tournament on the 203-yard par-3 14th, a tricky hole that features a pond on the left side of the green. With the pin tucked on the back left portion of the putting surface, he fired a 4-iron that landed softly and trickled within six feet of the hole. The birdie gave him even more of a cushion than he already had, and he was off to the races.

"I played real solid today," Bart said. "Hit a lot of solid golf shots...I really haven't had an opportunity to make a bogey, I don't think. I just kept myself in position and kept myself out of trouble."

With one round to play, Bart said he feels like the winning score will be 19- or 20-under, even if it's not him - even though nobody besides him is better than 12-under. It may be a stretch, but not too much so. En-Joie is there for the taking for these guys, with fairly little wind and fairways that run out, making the score play shorter than its already-modest distance. Driver-wedge is the common recipe on many of the par 4s, and the par-5 third and 12th holes have been reachable for the majority of the field - especially the 12th today, where the tee was even moved up. It's not impossible for Pavin to shoot another 64 or 65, so maybe the prediction will indeed hold water.

With Tim McGraw's tour bus long down the road and the country boots nowhere to be found on the grounds Saturday, the event still drew a sizable crowd, due in part to its tradition of free admission on Saturday afternoons. Areas near the green were crowded as early as 11 a.m., with play having started before 9 a.m. off No. 1 tee, and the event had the legitimate feel of a mid-sized regular tour event. Sunday's admission is $25, so the crowds not be the same, but they should be close - the area sure does embrace this tournament.

Bart has a four-shot lead, and it's easy to say it's his event to lose, but he still needs to play a solid round of golf. One or two-under isn't necessarily bad, but that may not get it done if some of the chasers do what's been done again and again this week - pile birdies on top of birdies.

But of course, a four-shot lead is a four-shot lead. Bart is in position A to grab his first Champions Tour title.