Harrison Frazar leads pack at Kaulig through two rounds

Harrison Frazar is halfway home to his first senior major title after shooting a second-round 68 on Friday at the Kaulig Companies Championship in Akron, Ohio.

Frazar leads the event formerly known as the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at 7-under 133, one shot ahead of Stewart Cink, who also posted 68 Friday at Firestone Country Club.

Frazar, 51, had a slightly tougher go of it after opening with a 65, but he walked away from his second round with four birdies and two bogeys, including a chip-in birdie at the par-4 13th hole.

"I clearly did not play as well as I did yesterday. However, just kept trying to hang in there," Frazar said. "... I really didn't hit it that poorly. You know, a couple of short shots that landed pin high and kind of bounced long, chipped in one of those. I just kind of hung in, just tried to keep fighting and tried to get the ball up and down realizing that this is a -- it's a hard golf course."

Frazar, whose last professional win came in 2011, is looking forward to being in contention over the weekend.

"It's going to be fun," he said. "I look up and down that board and I see Hall of Famers and see great players. They're all friends and I like them all, so it's going to be fun just to see where it goes. I feel like I can do this, so I'm optimistic."

Cink, who had three birdies and one bogey Friday, just turned 50 in May and is making his second start on the PGA Tour Champions.

"This weekend will be another chance to go through that little bit of an examination sort of within yourself," Cink said. "I know I have what it takes to play great here and I'd like to put together some really special rounds over the weekend. This is a great place to do it."

Ernie Els of South Africa is in the mix for his first senior major title. The former World No. 1 is in third at 5-under 135 after shooting a 67 Friday.

South Korea's K.J. Choi landed a hole-in-one at the 200-yard, par-3 fifth hole, helping him tie for the low round of the day (66) and vault into fourth place at 4 under.

Steve Stricker co-led the tournament with Frazar after Day 1, but he shot a 3-over 73 on Friday to slide into a tie for fifth at 2 under. Stricker, who won two majors back in May and has four wins on the season, made one early birdie at the par-5 second before carding four bogeys and zero birdies the rest of the way.

He's tied with Scott Parel (68) and Australia's Rod Pampling (66).

Germany's Bernhard Langer is part of a large tie for eighth at 1 under after shooting 68. Langer won the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month to become the winningest player in tour history (46 titles).