PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Nothing was dull about the way Jason Dufner played golf Friday at the PGA Championship. If anything, it was historic. Dufner holed out from the fairway for eagle, rolled in a putt across the green for par and kept making birdies until he stood 12 feet away from a shot at the lowest score in the 153 years of championship golf. One last birdie attempt didnt even get to the hole, and Dufner had to settle for a record-tying round of 7-under 63. "Probably the worst putt I hit of the day, which is a little disappointing," Dufner said. "But all in all, its a 63, and name on top of the leaderboard. So thats a great position to be playing from." It was the third time in the last seven years at the PGA Championship that a player had a putt at becoming the first player to shoot 62 in a major. Tiger Woods circled the hole at Southern Hills in 2007. Steve Stricker narrowly missed at Atlanta Athletic Club two years ago. Dufner didnt feel disappointed for long. On a rain-softened Oak Hill, where pelt-sized divots were flying and birdies were falling, Dufner surged to a two-shot lead over Masters champion Adam Scott, Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar. At 9-under 131, Dufner tied the 36-hole record at the PGA Championship he now shares with six other players. Dufner was alone at the top, and in the company of some big names in history. His 63 broke the course record at Oak Hill held by Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Webb Simpson, who shot 64 about five hours earlier. Dufner became the 24th player to shoot 63 in a major -- Greg Norman and Vijay Singh, both in the Hall of Fame, did it twice. And through it all, he barely cracked a smile. "Hes very calm," said Stricker, who played alongside Dufner. "Im sure he was churning on the inside. He just told me while we were signing our cards, he was like, This is a lot for a Friday." The possibilities were endless on a day that began with three hours of a steady rain until the sun broke through and took all the bite out of Oak Hill. Simpson also had a chance at 63 until he made a bogey on the 16th hole of his round. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose shot 29 on the front nine to get back into contention. When the second round finally ended, 27 players remained under par -- this on a course that is stubborn when it comes to par. In five previous majors at Oak Hill, only nine players have finished the tournament in red numbers. Jack Nicklaus did it twice. David Hearn is the only Canadian remaining in the field. The Brantford, Ont., native sits tied for 50th place, 11 shots back of the lead. The cut was at 143, the lowest at the PGA Championship since 2001 at Atlanta Athletic Club. For all the low scores, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were left behind. Woods couldnt get anything going, exchanging birdies with bogeys during a poor putting round that led to an even-par 70. He was at 1-over 141 and 10 shots back going into the weekend. Woods went to the range with his swing coach, trying to find answers. He has only one score in the 60s in 14 rounds at the majors this year. "Obviously, Im going to have to put together a really good weekend," Woods said. "This golf course is pretty soft. Its definitely gettable. Got to hit the ball in play and keep the ball near the hole so I can be aggressive with my putts." Mickelsons swing apparently went missing in the three weeks since he won the British Open. He was all over Oak Hill and still managed a 34 on the back nine until his wild shots caught up with him. Another 71 left him 11 shots out of the lead. Dufner was in prime position to win the PGA Championship two years ago when he had a four-shot lead with four holes to play, only to be tracked down by Keegan Bradley and then beaten in a playoff. Dufner said that day he would only be disappointed "if I never get another chance." And here he is, in record fashion. Dufners popularity has grown the last two years because of his zombie state. He was responsible for the craze known as "Dufnering" in April when someone took a photo of him slumped against a classroom wall, eyes in a daze, during a charity event at an elementary school as the teacher taught children how to relax and concentrate. But there were nerves, no doubt, and Dufner showed them at the very end. A 6-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole put him at 7 under for the round, and his 15-foot birdie putt on the next hole grazed the cup. He followed with two flawless swings on the tough 18th hole, which had yielded only four birdies at that point. That left him about 12 feet below the hole. And he left it short by about 18 inches. There even was a nervous moment on the tap-in, when the ball came off the putter weakly and dove in the right corner of the cup. "Its tough when youre chasing history," Dufner said. "You will be the first one to do something. I dont think Ive been the first to do anything in my life. So it was a little nerve-racking for a Friday. Its usually the pressure you might feel toward the end of the tournament." That part is still to come. Low scores were available to anyone. Even after Dufner finished his round, K.J. Choi had an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to reach 7 under. It narrowly missed, and Choi made bogey on the next hole to end that threat. Scott is swinging the club beautifully, and his only flaw Friday was not holing enough birdie chances when the rain stopped. Even so, he was in the hunt on the weekend for the fourth time in the last six majors. He will be in the final group with Dufner on Saturday. Henrik Stenson, a runner-up at Muirfield, had a 66 and joined Rose at 6-under 134, only three shots behind. Stricker and Robert Garrigus were another shot behind. Dufner is a student of golf history and was thrilled to part of it. But while that 63 put him in the record book, it doesnt guarantee the trophy. Of the 25 previous times that someone shot 63 in a major, only five players went on to win -- Nicklaus and Johnny Miller in the U.S. Open, Norman in the British Open, and Woods and Raymond Floyd in the PGA Championship. Now thats some elite company. Cheap NBA Jerseys China . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Authentic Cheap Jerseys . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. 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A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Before the game, Dusty Baker didnt know who his closer would be. The Cincinnati Reds managers eventual choice turned out just right. Sam LeCure overcame two ninth-inning hits and earned the save in the Reds 2-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. Shin-Soo Choo scored the decisive run in the eighth inning on Arizonas fourth wild pitch of the game. Choo scored both Cincinnati runs, helping the Reds to their third win in the four-game series. Cincinnati (73-55) improved to a season-high 18 games over .500 and increased its lead over Arizona to seven games in the race for the National Leagues second wild-card playoff spot. Choo singled to lead off the eighth against reliever Eury De La Rosa (0-1) and moved to second when De La Rosas pickoff attempt rolled away from first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Todd Frazier sacrificed Choo to third, and Choo scored when ball four to Joey Votto was a wild pitch. Mat Latos (13-4) went eight innings and earned the win, despite getting sick before he took the mound. In his previous three starts, Latos had received only five runs of offensive support. Baker was forced to use his closer Aroldis Chapman for two innings Wednesday night, making him unavailable Thursday. So LeCure was given the chance to earn his first major league save. "Sam is our utility guy," Baker said. "He can go long or short. He has a lot of guts." Latos made the most of two runs on Thursday, allowing just one run and five hits to Arizona. Latos struck out seven, didnt walk anyone, and hit one batter with a pitch. "I was sick right before the first inning," said Latos, who couldnt even keep water down. "I was sick again in the fifth inning. Its gone now but I didnt have anything left in the tank." Latos managed to save the bullpen. "Latos gave us what we wanted," Baker said. "A security guard told me he was vomiting underneath the stands." Arizona starter Trevor Cahill, in his second start since coming off the disabled list, allowed four hits and one run. He walked three, struck out seven and threw three wild pitches -- all in the third inning.dddddddddddd "He struggled that inning," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "They scored two runs on four wild pitches and an error. Its very frustrating, disappointing." Cahill allowed two hits but still faced the minimum 12 batters over his final four innings, with help from a caught stealing and a double-play ball. In the third, the Reds put runners on second and third with one out. Brandon Phillips cashed in the opportunity with a run-scoring groundout for a 1-0 lead. Cahill entered the game with 11 wild pitches this season, and now has a major league-high 14. The Diamondbacks took a more conventional route in getting even 1-1 in fourth. Adam Eaton and Goldschmidt led off with singles, Arizonas first hits off of Latos. Martin Prado hit into a double play, but Aaron Hill rapped a sharp one-hopper that third baseman Frazier couldnt handle. Hill was credited with a run-scoring infield hit. LeCure told himself he needed three outs like any other inning. "I didnt want to even let myself think of being the closer. I knew there was a possibility," LeCure said. "Chapman is our closer but I did tell him to watch out." Baker selected LeCure because he is fearless. "He doesnt have the best stuff, but hes not afraid," Baker said. "Sam was the best man. He knows how to pitch. I knew he wouldnt get rattled if there were runners on." NOTES: Cincinnati RHP Jonathan Broxton is expected to have surgery after he was placed on the disabled list with a strained right forearm. ... The Reds moved RHP Johnny Cueto to the 60-day disabled list to open a roster spot for RHP Nick Christiani, who was called up from Triple-A Louisville. ... Arizona C Miguel Montero was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. INF Willie Bloomquist was 2-for-3 with a run scored on Wednesday while on rehab assignments with the teams rookie-level Arizona League affiliate. ... LHP Wade Miley (9-8) is Arizonas scheduled starter in Fridays opener of a three-game series at Philadelphia. RHP Homer Bailey (8-10) is due to start at home for the Reds against Milwaukee. ' ' '