Langer Up by Two at Senior Open Championship


Bernhard Langer carded a 6-under 65 to take the 18-hole lead in the Senior Open Championship. The final major of the year on the Champions Tour began Thursday at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales.

Langer, a 56-year-old German with 21 victories and three majors on the over-50 circuit - including the Senior Open Championship in 2010 at Carnoustie, had seven birdies and a bogey for a two-shot lead over American Bob Tway and three over England's Chris Williams.

The World Golf Hall of Fame member has an affinity for courses in the U.K. "The thing I enjoy the most is the firmness of the ground and how you can just nip the ball," he told the European Tour's official website Wednesday. "It makes a certain sound when you hit it as well, and you can create some spin.

"It's interesting around the greens too - you have so many options," added Langer, who could have won his second Open title last year at Royal Birkdale but lost on the fifth playoff hole to Mark Wiebe. "You can use a 4-iron, a 7-iron or a 9-iron, or even a lob wedge.

"You just need imagination to see the shot. Some courses we play on have six inches of rough, so there's no options. But here, you can almost use any club in the bag and that makes it fun."

After his 65, Langer remarked, "Six-under is very satisfying. I played smart, some good, some great. I didn't make many mistakes and that's what it comes down to at the end."

Four out of the lead is Scotland's Andrew Oldcorn, while the only other players posting under-par rounds Thursday with 70s were Canada's Rick Gibson and Australia's Peter Fowler.

Other scores included a 72 by Scotsman Colin Montgomerie, who won the previous Champions Tour event, the U.S. Senior Open in Oklahoma. Wiebe shot a 76.

For complete scoring details, visit http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014862/leaderboard/index.html.