"You go out and play hard. If I've finished in the top 10, I've played well," he said. "If I win, great."
Edwards shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to reach 12 under on the 7,489-yard Crosswater Golf Club course in the sunny high desert of central Oregon.
Mark McNulty was 10 under after a 68, while Keith Fergus was 8 under after a 66.
"We've only written half the examination paper and there's another 36 questions to be answered," McNulty said.
Edwards, who joined the Champions Tour last year and has three top 10 finishes this season, had seven birdies and no bogeys on Friday.
McNulty, who has had lower back problems and has had a down year on the tour for players 50 and older, has strung together four rounds in the 60s after 15 rounds of 70 or higher.
Playing in the same group, both McNulty and Edwards birdied the par-4
18th.
"It's certainly going to make the chicken that I'm going to have for dinner taste better," McNulty said.
The biggest galleries of the day followed the group of Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw and Bruce Summerhays.
Watson and Crenshaw ran into trouble the par-4 14th when they each hit each other's balls and were each penalized two strokes. Crenshaw ended up with a triple bogey, and Watson had a double bogey.
Watson shot a 72 to finish at 4 under. Crenshaw had a 77 and was 1 over.
Don Pooley had a hole-in-one on the par-3 seventh hole. He used a 5-iron to drive the ball perfectly for 189 yards.
It was Pooley's first ace on the Champions Tour. He was 4 under after a 68.
