Bernhard Langer Extends Lead At Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS

Bernhard Langer leads by three strokes after three rounds at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS. Photo courtesy of Zachary Weiss

For 45 minutes following his round Friday, Bernhard Langer waited to see if his broken driver would be repaired.

Fortunately for Langer, Baldwin native Mike Bertha was able to find the replacement piece and the club remained in his bag.

While Langer would record two bogeys on the front nine, he recovered to shoot 6 under par for the rest of the round and extended his lead to three strokes over Kenny Perry after three rounds at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS.

“I was surprised [he could fix it],” Langer said. “To me it looked like there was a piece broken and I was surprised he had that piece and could drill the old one out, put the new one in and put it together.”

Langer who is trying to win his first major since 2010, missed a three foot putt on the first hole that would have saved his par and then on the fifth hole hit his drive into a divot filled with sand then got buried in a bunker.

Things began to change on the sixth hole though when Langer converted a 32 foot putt for a birdie and then made another the very next hole from 10 feet out. He would drain another birdie on 12 from nine feet out before going on a string of birdies on holes 14-16.

On 16, Langer hit a three wood avoiding trouble off the tee and by doing so played to a yardage. Langer, who rarely shows emotion on the course, made a 15 footer he referred to as a “tough one to read downhill” and pumped his fist.

Langer’s three round total of 15 under par 195 is tied for the lowest numerical score in event history matching Fred Couples last year, is the third best 54-hole numerical score of his Champions Tour career and best in a senior major championship. His 86 total putts rank first in the field.

Perry wanted to repeat Friday’s success and duplicate his round of 63 and got off to a fast start with a birdie on the first hole and eagle on the second hole.

“I was all go, I was ready,” said Perry. “All in all it was a great day, I thoroughly had fun. I was looking forward to getting out there and trying to see if I could back up another 63. I shot well enough to get it to where I can at least be in the group with Bernhard tomorrow to kind of see what he’s shooting out there.”

Now, Perry is in a familiar spot to last year when he trailed Fred Couples by two strokes but shot 64 in the final round to win by two strokes. While Langer’s lead is three, Perry notices the similarities.

“It’s kind of running like last year, I just hope the results are the same,” Perry said. “It’s deja vu, it’s like Groundhog Day. Bernhard’s a different character. He’s tough. He’s gritty, he’s tough, he’s got a lot of heart, and he’s a good friend. I enjoy competing against him, so looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”

The low round of the day came from Russ Cochran who shot a 7 under par 63 which included a 31 on the front nine which tied for the best nine hole score of the day. He eagled hole 2, and birdied 1, 6, 11, 12, 14 and 18. His lone miscue was a bogey on 15. Cochran at 3 under par through seven holes Thursday putting him a stroke back of the lead at the time, however he had three bogeys by round’s end.

“I like the direction my game’s going,” said Cochran. “I finished up last week with a 64, a nice solid round, but out here the thing is there’s a lot of low rounds. If you can catch a hot putter and get the ball in the right spot on the greens, there are going to be a lot of low rounds. Although I like the way my game’s trending, I know I’m going to have to kind of come out and shoot a good round tomorrow.”

Cochran’s 63 is the second lowest round in his Champions Tour career.

Three other players are double digits under par as first round co-leader Joe Durant shot 3 under par for the day to finish at 11 under par. Bill Glasson shot 2 under par with birdies on holes 2, 7 and 15 and a bogey on hole 8. Because of this, as well as John Riegger and Michael Allen at 9 under par, Langer believes the tournament is far from over.

Langer, Perry and Cochran will tee off together at 12:32 p.m. Langer is 2-6 when leading senior majors after three rounds, however a win would be his 21st on the Champions Tour and place him eighth on the all-time wins list. A win for Perry would make him the first to defend a major championship on the Champions Tour since Tom Lehman won the Regions Tradition in 2011 and 2012.

Of note: The eighth hole has been the toughest of the tournament playing at .372 over par. Through three rounds, there have been 18 birdies recorded but 88 bogeys and 10 double bogeys. Kenny Perry, who bogeyed the hole Saturday, described it as “long, long and longer.”

“It’s probably got the toughest rough on the golf course down the right side and it’s got the two bunkers,” Perry said. “To me it’s probably the best hole on the golf course. I love how pretty it is off the tee, but it’s to my advantage if I can hit a good drive. I can carry those left bunkers down the left side if I hit a good one and the fairway opens up for me.”

Third-round leaders/co-leaders have won 18 of the past 31 Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS… Tommy Armour III had the lone bogey free round of the day with a 66 to put him at 8 under par for the tournament… Bobby Clampett’s streak of consecutive holes without a three putt ended at 176, his eighth hole of the day… The biggest comeback in the history of the tournament is six strokes accomplished by Raymond Floyd in 2000… Bart Bryant has missed two fairways through three rounds.