KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii » Loren Roberts couldn't win the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on Friday, but he probably already lost it.

Despite shooting a 7-under 65 yesterday to move to 8 under for the tournament, the 2006 champion conceded that his 71 the first day probably cost him any chance of winning. He trails leader Bart Bryant by seven shots.

“;You have to go low here every day,”; Roberts said. “;I shot a 61 the last round in 2006 and I still barely won. You can't nurse a lead around here. You have to make birdies every third hole and you have to do it all three days.”;

Roberts holds the Champions Tour record of 37 consecutive rounds of par or better and can still go low if the Boss of the Moss gets it rolling on the greens.

“;You never know around here, maybe a 61 (today) will put me right back in it,”; said Roberts, who started 2006 with wins here and at Turtle Bay. “;I just wish I had gotten off to a little better start the first day. It's tough to win if you have a round in the 70s on this golf course.”;

Roberts held the clubhouse lead for about 20 minutes before Mark Wiebe came in with a 65 of his own. He opened with a 70 on Friday and, like Roberts, knew it would take something special today to stay atop the leaderboard.

There were two more 65s among the players who finished early. They were Craig Stadler and Lonnie Nielsen. But their even-par rounds on Friday will keep them from contending today. Bryant closed with a 65 as well.

Player does it again

Gary Player has never been one to act his age and he continued to be forever young in yesterday's second round of this winners-only event, shooting his age or better for the 23rd time.

The 73-year-old, playing with Hale Irwin on Friday, had a chance to shoot in the 60s in the opening round, just missing a 6-footer on the 18th, to finish at 2-under 70. But as he likes to point out, he continues to shoot his age fairly often on the Champions Tour. Still competing after most of his peers already have put the clubs in the garage for good, Player says that taking care of yourself is his motto.

“;If you eat right, don't smoke, don't drink in excess and stay hydrated, you can do anything you want,”; Player said. “;I've been preaching this message for years. Get out and do things, have fun, don't sit around and get old.”;

Player won nine majors on the PGA Tour and six on the senior circuit. The only golfer to have won more major titles on both tours is Jack Nicklaus with 26. Tom Watson has combined to win 13 and Arnold Palmer 12.

No. 5 plays tough

The par-3 fifth played devilishly yesterday as none of the 34 golfers in the field managed a birdie on the 205-yard hole. It wound up being the most difficult with a scoring average of 3.382.

“;The pin was way over to the right and there was a little left wind hurting,”; said Jay Haas, who has 11 consecutive rounds in the 60s. “;It's a hard shot to challenge over there. It was a 4-iron shot for me. It's just a hard hole.

“;You'd think if the PGA Tour guys were hitting 5- or 6-irons they could stop it a little bit easier. For me, I hit a beautiful shot, but still went by maybe 18 feet or so. I probably actually pushed the shot a little bit, just left of the flag and it kicked left a little bit. It was just a hard pin to get to.”;

There were 24 pars, seven bogeys and three doubles—by R.W. Eaks, Mike Reid and Keith Fergus. The easiest hole was the par-5 seventh. There were two eagles, 20 birdies and 11 pars with only one bogey—by Andy Bean.