KAILUA-KONA >> If Fred Couples didn’t know it already, he realizes it now: Bernhard Langer is a bad man.
Despite leading for most of the day, Couples surrendered his advantage at the closing hole with an ill-timed bogey that left the door open for Langer to close with a birdie during Friday’s second round of the $1.8 million Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
Couples shot his second straight 65 for a two-day total of 14-under 130 and was watching from the scorer’s tent as Langer calmly sank a 6-footer for birdie that left him at 15-under 129. Langer shared the lead after the first round with an impressive 8-under 64.
As well as this twosome played in ideal conditions on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, it’s not as if they ran away and hid from the rest of the 47-man field in the opening tournament of the PGA Tour Champions season. Kirk Triplett is alone in third at 131 after he managed an 8-under 64 as 29 golfers shot rounds in the 60s.
David Toms fashioned the best round of the day at 9-under 63 to join defending champion Duffy Waldorf (68), Olin Browne (67) and two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen (66) at 12-under 132.
In all, there are nine golfers within four shots of the lead, with any one of them capable of tracking down Langer.
But it won’t be easy.
Langer is trying to become the first golfer to win this event three times. He had four victories and four runner-up finishes in 2016 en route to being named the Champions Tour player of the year.
His 36-hole total is his lowest score at this tournament. His previous best was 130 in 2009 and 2014. He went on to win both of those events. Langer credited birdieing four of the last five as the reason he’s in the lead.
“I needed to,” Langer said. “I fell asleep or kind of lost the momentum there. Not birdieing 10 was a bummer, and then bogeying 12 wasn’t much fun, so I was hoping to finish strong and I did.”
Couples got off to a hot start, birdieing four of the first five, but he only managed four more birdies the rest of the day against bogeys at Nos. 12 and 18. It became apparent late on the front nine that his back was giving him problems. A bad drive at 18 led to a costly bogey, but it was clear he was hurting down the stretch.
“Well, it’s barking, but I got through the round,” Couples said. “I mean, the real problem is I played pretty well and I get going and then I have a shot like on 18 and then hit it like that and everything just kind of stops. But at the same time, I did pretty well on the back nine. I putted well.
“After six or seven hours my back just kind of tightens up. It’s got really nothing to do with the golf swing. I’m trying not to move around so much, just play golf. But I did do well today. I’m not complaining at all.”
Tour rookie David Toms moved into contention with a 9-under 63 that left him in a tie for fourth. It is the best round of the tournament through 36 holes. He will need to fashion a similar number today if he is going to track down Langer.
The leaderboard is filled with golfers who know how to hoist a trophy. But none better than Langer. If he wins today, it will be his 30th victory on the senior circuit. He will break a tie with Lee Trevino for second all-time. The leader is Hale Irwin with 45 wins since he turned 50 21 years ago. Langer and Couples will be in the final pairing today.
“Yeah, always fun playing with Fred,” Langer said. “We need him more out here. He’s a great guy and when he’s hot he’s tough to beat. So looking forward to taking him on, but there’s a whole bunch of other guys who are still in it, too.”
