NORTON, Mass. — Tim Clark matched his best score on the PGA Tour with a 62. He made two eagles in a span of three holes, nearly driving a par 4. And he wound up with a one-shot lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

It still was hard to hide his disappointment.

The South African poured in birdies at such an alarming rate yesterday on the TPC Boston that after making his second eagle, from just over 20 feet on the 298-yard fourth hole, he was 10 under through 13 holes.

Two birdies over his final five holes — one of them a par 5 — and he would have a 59.

And after a beautiful sand wedge to 3 feet on the par-5 seventh to reach 11 under for his round, he only needed one birdie over the final two holes to become the fourth player to shoot golf's magic number on the PGA Tour.

"For a while there, there certainly was a chance of 59," he said.

His hopes ended with a 3-iron hybrid right of the 222-yard eighth hole and an 8-foot par putt he failed to convert.

"That was the end of the dream," he said.

But the second round of the PGA Tour Playoffs effectively is just beginning.

Clark bogeyed his final two holes and still shot a 9-under 62, giving him a one-shot lead over Mike Weir of Canada going into the final two rounds.

Vijay Singh, who won The Barclays in a playoff last week to lead the FedEx Cup standings, picked up three birdies on the final four holes for a 66 and was two shots back at 130, along with former British Open champion Ben Curtis, who had a 65.

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson, a Castle High alum, shot a 68 and made the cut with a 139 score. Punahou School alum Parker McLachlin shot 69 for 140 and missed the cut by one.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

FOUR SHARE 36-HOLE LEAD IN WAL-MART FIRST TEE

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Jeff Sluman shot a 6-under 66 at Pebble Beach for a share of the second-round lead in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open with Loren Roberts, Phil Blackmar and John Harris.

Sluman, a six-time PGA Tour winner in his first full season on the Champions Tour, had six birdies and a bogey en route to a 9-under 135 total. He opened with a 69 on Friday at Del Monte.

"Essentially, I hit every green and every fairway," said Sluman, the Bank of America Championship winner in June. "I drove the ball well and I was never in a position to cause any angst or anxiety."

The 6-foot-7 Blackmar shot a 68, also at Pebble Beach. Roberts had a 69 at Pebble Beach, and Harris shot a 66 at Del Monte.

This tournament features a full Champions Tour field, plus 78 junior players each teamed with a pro in a simultaneous pro-junior division.

Anna Jang, a Punahou School senior from 'Aiea, is paired with Massy Kuramoto and the two are currently tied for fourth place of the better ball format at 12-under after 36 holes.

Sydney Burlison of Salinas, Calif., and Champions Tour player Fuzzy Zeoller lead at 20-under heading into today's final round.

EUROPEAN PGA TOUR

FRENCHMAN HAVRET TOPS JOHNNIE WALKER

GLENEAGLES, Scotland — France's Gregory Havret birdied the last hole for a 4-under 69 and a one-stroke lead over England's Anthony Wall after the third round of the Johnnie Walker Championship.

Havret has an 11-under 208 total on the PGA Centenary Course. Wall shot a 65.

Marcel Siem (66), Lee Westwood (66), Ricardo Gonzalez (67), David Howell (68) and Soren Hansen (68) were two strokes back. Colin Montgomerie appeared to have lost his chance of a Ryder Cup wild card after shooting a 76 to drop 1 over.