Warm sunshine adorned the Lancashire coast on Friday, as the 27th Senior Open Championship reached the halfway point. Unusually for Championships held at the magnificent Royal Birkdale, the weather remained consistent throughout the day providing level playing conditions for the assembled field. Scoring was once again difficult on the testing links, but a coveted few did flourish in the afternoon, with one name not being of any surprise in the slightest; Bernhard Langer.
The 55-year-old former two-time Masters champion shares the lead at the halfway stage of the Championship, after an exceptional second round of 67. The German had started the day at 2-under, and he continued his accession to the summit of the leaderboard with an early birdie at the 5th. However, he came undone at the 6th, as many have during the opening two days, and he made double bogey. However, like all great champions, the 2010 winner at Carnoustie would play his remaining 12 holes in 4-under to post a 67 and a 5-under total of 135 for the Championship.
“I played like the weather today, pretty good,” he said. “I just had one little blemish with a double bogey where I missed the green and double hit my chip shot. Otherwise it was a really good round. I hit a lot of good shots and putted much better today. So I’m very pleased with the position I'm in at the halfway point.”
It was a stunning Friday that brought in record crowds for the Senior Open Championship. A total of 12,218 came through the gates, and it is a total that surpasses the previous record of 10,150 on the final day of the 2008 Senior Open at Royal Troon. Most of them followed the legendary German in the afternoon, as he looks to make up for losing out on the title to Fred Couples last year at Turnberry.
However, late in the evening Langer was joined at the top by Mark Wiebe who produced the lowest round of the tournament to tie for the lead. The 55-year-old American, who won twice on the PGA Tour in the 1980s, found himself among the later starters and finished with a birdie to post an outstanding round of 65 under the setting sun over Birkdale.
“There's a long way to go, but I'm tickled to be where I am,” he said. “Last year I tied for sixth at Turnberry and I fell in love with the golf course. It was unbelievable. I had never played there, and I had never played here, and I have some same love affair going this week. It is just a real test of everything in your bag, including patience.”
Patience was in order for David Frost, who fought hard to post a second consecutive round of 68. The South African, won the Regions Tradition in June, is just a shot back of the halfway lead at 4-under. Day one leader Gene Sauers held his ground on Friday, and he remains at 3-under alongside Peter Fowler and Mark McNulty.
At the end of Friday, 12 players were under par, with Jeff Hart, Rocco Mediate and Sandy Lyle within three shots of the lead at 2-under. Lyle, the 1985 Open Champion, made the cut at Muirfield last week, and the 55-year-old is looking forward to the weekend ahead:
“I'm always kind of dubious what can happen on this golf course and in links in general,” said the Scot. “You just never know whether something will happen like a plugged ball in the bunker face or whatever.
“But I was very pleased with the way the golf went. The things I've been working on are just sort of starting to come through and having a bit more confidence week by week.”
28 players are all within eight shots of the lead, and they include Mark O’Meara, the winner of the 1998 Open Championship at Birkdale, and debutant Colin Montgomerie, who is hoping to be buoyed by the large and supportive British galleries.
As the month-long celebration of links golf continues, the links of Royal Birkdale is providing a memorable canvas for what has so far been one of the most successful Senior Open Championships in its history. With a congested leaderboard, and many of the game’s legendary names in contention, it’s certain to be a compelling weekend on the Lancashire coast.