Dufner Turns Soft Day Into Historic One at PGA Jason Dufner lost his chance to make history in the PGA Championship. And then he lost his shirt. He still walked away from Oak Hill late Friday evening with a round he won't forget - a 63 - and a place in the record book with some of golf's greatest players. The moment was big enough that Dufner even agreed to show a little emotion. Prompted in a television interview, Dufner flashed a smile. But only for a second. "To join history, to shoot 63 in a major, pretty unbelievable," he said. And to be leading the tournament, even better. So hopefully, it will propel me to a great weekend. There was nothing dull about his golf. 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 didn't even get to the hole, and Dufner had to settle for a 7-under 63. "You couldn't have a better putt for a 62," he said. And I left it short in the jar. He also left behind his shirt, his cap and the glove he was wearing, which he signed with the date, the course and the score. The PGA of America shipped the items to its museum in Florida to put on permanent display. 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 didn't 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. "He's very calm," said Stricker, who played alongside Dufner. I'm 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. The cut was at 143, the lowest at the PGA Championship since 2001 at Atlanta Athletic Club. For all the low scores, Woods and Phil Mickelson were left behind.