Bernhard Langer leads after opening round of Champions Tour finale
Friday 6 November 2015 15:06, UK
Bernhard Langer left Colin Montgomerie and Jeff Maggert trailing in the opening round of the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Langer shot a seven-under-par 63 on Desert Mountain's Cochise Course to take a two-stroke lead and improve his chances of claiming the overall season title.
The 58-year-old began the week third in the Charles Schwab Cup race, 66 points behind Montgomerie and 27 behind Maggert.
"Almost flawless the first 10 holes," Langer said. "I putted well. The balls were all going in pretty much middle of the hole. It was fun."
With players receiving a point for every $500 (£330) earned in the $2.5m (£1.65m) tournament, Langer was $33,000 (£22,000) behind Montgomerie and Maggert $13,500 (£8,900) adrift.
Montgomerie started the tournament with a 70, leaving him tied for 17th in the 30-man field, while Maggert three-putted the par-five 18th for a bogey and a 72 that dropped him into a tie for 24th.
Champions Tour Golf
Langer is trying to win the season title for the second straight year and record third time overall.
Scottsdale resident Michael Allen and Billy Andrade were tied for second after opening with rounds of 65. Andrade celebrated the shot of the day when he had a hole-in-one on the 190-yard second hole, using a six-iron.
