HUALALAI, Hawaii >> When they were having the award ceremony Tuesday night for those who had a banner year in 2019, Bernard Langer wasn’t the one hording all the hardware as has often happened in the past.
Not that he had a bad year, mind you. The 62-year-old did win twice, his 39th and 40th on the PGA Tour Champions, and manage eight top-10s in 22 events. He needs five more senior victories to draw even with Hale Irwin for the most all-time, and Jack Nicklaus’ place at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai has been particularly kind to him through the years.
Langer has not only won three times here, but has finished out of the top 10 only twice in 12 appearances. And while he didn’t run away and hide in Thursday’s first round in the opening Champions tour event of 2020, he and fellow past Hualalai winner Miguel Angel Jimenez sit atop a stellar leaderboard with 8-under 64s.
“Is it nice to be back here, that’s the understatement of the year,” Langer said. “It is my favorite event. Not just because of the golf course, it’s because of everything. It’s a phenomenal hotel. Beautiful facilities all around. Great food. Good weather. Fantastic sponsor.
It doesn’t get much better.”
After a strange few days weather-wise, the conditions were more to the players’ liking, with a lot of wind coming off the ocean and a bit of rain that let you know you were on the Kona Coast of the Big Island. As well as Langer played — nine birdies and a lone bogey at No. 3 — he had plenty of company all around him. including Jimenez, who also birdied the closing hole to shoot the first 64 of the day, one group in front of Langer.
More importantly, Jimenez made a nice par save at No. 17 after flying the green and landing under a television stand. He got up and down for par. After carding one of three bogey-free rounds, he said he was going to have a nice glass of red wine and a fine cigar and sleep soundly on the lead as he prepares for today’s second 18 paired with fellow European golfer Langer.
“Well, playing very well, very solid,” Jimenez said. “I miss just a couple of shots, but I’m not used to the distance and I make good up-and-downs (including the one at 17), and then chances for birdie. And here we are. I don’t think about the score, just focus on every shot. I know I’m playing well by my score. I know that. But focus, concentrate on shot for shot, is what you have to do.”
The scoring average for the first day was 69.447. The key to a successful round here is to play the four par-5s well. They are all birdie holes. Those who score on those holes usually find themselves cashing bigger paychecks. Jimenez and Langer birdied all four of those holes. Three of those played the easiest for the 38 golfers taking part in this winners-only field. The par-5 14th played a little harder because it was straight into the afternoon wind, but still played the sixth-easiest for the day.
This is the first time South Africans Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have played here. Both turned 50 in 2019. For Els, this was his senior tour debut. He chipped in for birdie at the first hole and went as low as 2 under for his round before settling for an even-par 72, tied for 30th.
Els said he was still trying to find his game after playing so poorly the past three years on the PGA Tour. He hit some good shots, but he also had some bad ones, including landing in the water at the par-3 fifth, resulting in a double bogey that took the stuffing out of his round.
Tom Watson, who turned 70 in September, bettered his age with a 3-under 69. Jimenez had the best back nine with a 31.
And this certainly isn’t a match-play situation for this talented twosome. Woody Austin carded two eagles in a wind that was benign in the early going, but picked up as the afternoon wore on. He shot a 7-under 65 to sit alone in third, just one shot back. Kenny Perry and Joe Durant were just another shot off the pace at 6-under 66.
In all, there are 10 golfers within three shots of the lead, with 15 rounds in the 60s.
