Ross Fisher's lead cut to one shot in Irish Open

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Ross Fisher had mixed feelings after seeing his lead trimmed to a solitary stroke as his third round at the 3 Irish Open tailed off following a flying start.
The Englishman held a three-shot overnight lead over Francesco Molinari after a stunning second round of 61, and continued his momentum after birdieing four of the first seven holes on Saturday.
But a double-bogey at the eighth brought him back to the field and he dropped further shots at the 15th and 17th to card a level-par 71, allowing Chris Wood and Molinari to close to within one of his 12-under-par total.
Wood's 66 was matched only by Richard Bland as the best round of the day, while Molinari recorded three birdies in a solid two-under-par 69 to maintain his challenge.
Wood, buoyed by a six-under 65 on Friday, bounced back from bogeying the fourth with a run of five birdies from the fifth to the ninth and another on the 13th brought him to the brink of the summit.
Italian Molinari, meanwhile, turned in a one-under-par 34 after birdying the par-five seventh for the third day in succession and, after giving that shot back on the first hole of the back nine, he birdied the 11th and 14th to keep himself on terms with the Bristolian in second place.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano is a further shot back after an eventful round which had looked set to earn him a share of the lead.
The Spaniard turned in 31 after five birdies and a solitary dropped shot at the third, and he was 12 under after a three at the 477-yard 12th hole, but a double-bogey six at the last marked a frustrating finish to a fine 18 holes and left him to play in the penultimate group on Sunday.
He will follow Australia's Richard Green and Irishman Padraig Harrington on to the course after they both finished at nine under after rounds of 69.
The left-handed Green undid some of the good work of his four birdies with a double-bogey six at the 13th, while Harrington dropped a shot at the fourth and two more at the eighth but also racked up five birdies.
THIRD ROUND SCORES
Par 213 (3x71)
201 Ross Fisher 69 61 71
202 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 66 69, Chris Wood 71 65 66
203 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 66 69 68
204 Richard Green (Aus) 65 70 69, Padraig Harrington 68 67 69
205 Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 66 69 70, Anders Hansen (Den) 67 68 70
206 Richard Bland 69 71 66, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 67 72 67, Michael Hoey 66 69 71
207 Shane Lowry 74 65 68, Paul McGinley 68 68 71, Darren Clarke 66 70 71, Johan Edfors (Swe) 67 69 71
208 Brett Rumford (Aus) 66 69 73, Paul Waring 75 66 67
209 Sam Hutsby 69 69 71, Joost Luiten (Ned) 74 65 70, Marcel Siem (Ger) 66 70 73
210 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 66 74 70, David Drysdale 67 71 72, Graeme McDowell 70 72 68, Paul Lawrie 66 72 72, Richard McEvoy 69 72 69, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 72 70 68
211 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 70 70, Anton Haig (Rsa) 66 70 75, Richie Ramsay 71 68 72, Peter Whiteford 70 69 72, Sion E Bebb 70 71 70, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 68 73 70, Steven O'Hara 68 71 72, Simon Khan 68 70 73, Paul Broadhurst 68 71 72, Graeme Storm 70 71 70, Rory McIlroy 67 68 76, David Dixon 67 68 76, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 70 72, Alastair Forsyth 69 70 72, Gregory Havret (Fra) 72 69 70
212 Damien McGrane 65 72 75, Marc Warren 69 71 72, David Howell 64 75 73, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 71 70 71, Mark Foster 69 70 73
213 Danny Lee (Nzl) 67 73 73, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 67 73 73, Anthony Wall 72 70 71, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 68 70 75, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 70 72, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 72 74, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 71 72, Mark Brown (Nzl) 72 68 73
214 Peter Baker 71 70 73, Anthony Kang (USA) 69 71 74, Stephen Gallacher 70 72 72, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 67 73 74, Richard Finch 70 72 72, Jamie Donaldson 72 70 72, Phillip Archer 71 69 74, Ariel Canete (Arg) 69 72 73
215 Justin Rose 74 68 73, Markus Brier (Aut) 69 72 74
216 Julien Quesne (Fra) 71 71 74, Pablo Martin (Spa) 73 69 74, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 69 72 75
217 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 70 76, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 72 70 75
218 Robert Coles 69 73 76
219 Barrie Trainor 69 73 77

Michael Stewart, winner of the Allied Surveyors Scottish amateur championship at Gullane (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency).

 JUST CHAMPION! THAT'S MICHAEL STEWART

THE 20-YEAR-OLD PRIDE OF AYRSHIRE

Michael Stewart, 20-year-old Troon Welbeck player, was the toast of Ayrshire golfers last night (Sunday), after winning the Allied Surveyors Scottish men’s amateur championship over the Gullane No 1 course at East Lothian.
Stewart, the No 3 seed and winner of the Scottish boys’ match-play championship in 2008, beat the unseeded Jordan Findlay, 22, from Fraserburgh and a long-time golfing buddy, by 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final.
The last Ayrshire man to win the national men’s title was Hugh McKibbin in 1996.
For once there is no danger of the new Scottish champion turning pro within a few months. Stewart has quit East Tennessee State University – where Findlay was also a student – halfway through a four-year course and intends to be a full-time amateur for the next 18 months.
The prime target for Stewart, backed by coach Ian Rae, is to win a place in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team for next year’s match against the United States at Royal Aberdeen.
“It’s a great feeling to have won. Jordan didn’t give me any holes out there. I had to win them. I tried to put it to the back of my mind that we’re great friends and just played the best I could,” said Stewart.
Understandably, Findlay was very disappointed, the only consolation being that if he had to be beaten by someone then he was glad it was to one of his best golfing friends.
"From tee to green in the final, that was probably the best I've played well week. If only I had putted as well as I did in beating James Byrne in the semi-finals," said Jordan. "But I will be taking a lot of positives from the week. I think I am a better player now than I was when I failed to get through the Tour School first stage last year. I am think I am ready and better prepared to have another go at it."
THE MATCH
In windy conditions, Stewart took the lead for the first time by winning the sixth and the seventh in the morning. He was never pulled back to square by Findlay.
At the end of the first round, Stewart was four holes up, having gone round in three-under-par 68 to Findlay’s one-over 72.
Findlay’s title hopes were alive again when he slashed his deficit to two holes by winning the 20th with a birdie 3 and the 21st where Stewart lost his ball in the rough.
But the next eight holes were halved as the players wrestled to gain the initiative.
Findlay bogeyed the 29th – his first bogey in 20 successive holes – to put Stewart three up and the Ayrshire man promptly got an eagle 3 at the long 30th to regain a four-hole lead.
That was the decisive holes of the final.
Findlay came back with birdies at the short 31st and 33rd to get back to two down but he was rapidly running out of holes.
Stewart ended an absorbing final in the grand manner with a birdie 2 from 6ft at the short 34th.
For the day, Stewart was four under par and for the week he was more than 30 under par. And just think he was three down after 11 holes to Kyle McClung before beating him at the 20th in the second round.

FINAL (36 holes)
*Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) bt Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) X and X.

*denotes seeded player.

SCROLL DOWN TO READ A RUNNING REPORT OF THE FINAL

Jordan Findlay with the silver medal as beaten finalist and his American girl friend and caddie, Tara (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

Changed conditions at Gullane for 36-hole final

Jordan Findlay (left) and Michael Stewart before the start of today's 36-hole final at Gullane No 1 (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

Michael Stewart is new champion - wins by 3 and 2.

COLIN FARQUHARSON REPORTING FROM GULLANE
Troon Welbeck's Michael Stewart, the 20-year-old No 3 seed and bidding to become the first Ayrshire man since Hugh McKibbin in 1994 to win the national title, was four up on Fraserburgh's unseeded Jordan Findlay, 22, at the end of the first 18 holes.of the 36-hole climax to the Allied Surveyors Scottish men's amateur golf championship today over the Gullane No 1 course, East Lothian.
It was a totally different day - bright and breezy instead of Friday's dead calm but overcast conditions.
A strong northwesterly wind had arrived overnight and looked like staying for the day, making the likelihood of a repeat of yesterday afternoon's "Birdie Festival" - one eagle and 25 birdies over the two semi-finals -  very remote.
But Jordan Findlay had other ideas. He carried on where he left off in the one-hole semi-finalwin over top seed James Byrne. Jordan, with a minimum of fuss and lining-up the putt, rammed in a five-yarder for a winning birdie 3 at the first.
Stewart, with the longer tee shot, had misjudged the strength required for his approach and overshot the green and was still several feet away from the hole after his chip.
Stewart was not long in arrears. Findlay bogeyed the second to be pulled back to all square.
After a half in par 5s at the third, Findlay regained the lead with a par 3 at the short fourth.
The fifth was halved in par 5s before Stewart levelled it again, courtesy of a three-putt bogey from 12 feet by Findlay at the sixth. The wind was obviously making life far more difficult for the contestants. Findlay had already marked up two bogeys within six holes - he had only two bogeys throughout the 18 holes he required to take James Byrne's measure.
Tbe seventh hole raised Findlay's early total of bogeys to three, Stewart winning the hole with a par 4 to go one up for the first time. The Fraserburgh man drove into a bunker and had one of those one-foot-in, one-foot-out kind of lie.
The eighth and ninth holes were halved in pars, leaving Stewart with a one-hole lead. The Troon youngster holed from 10ft at the ninth having miss the green left with his tee shot.
Stewart covered the first nine holes in an approxmiate 36 (one over par), Findlay 37 (two over).
In contrast to the semi-finals, there had been only one birdie so far - Findlay's at the first hole.
Findlay fell two down, possibly for the first time in the week-long championship, when he bogeyed the 10th , his third bogey in the past five holes, at the 10th. Stewart now two up.
Stewart doubled the birdie count with a 3 at the 11th which gave him a three-hole lead ... a long way to go still but Findlay needed to stop the slide.
Stewart also birdied the long 12th but Findlay was able to match it for a half.
The short 13th was halved in 3s and the 14th in pars 4s. Findlay had putts for birdies at both holes but couldn't take the chances.
In contrast, Stewart got his third birdie in five holes at the long 15th to go four holes up. Stewart was on the front edge in two while Findlay was bunkered greenside.
After a half in 3 at the 16th, where he could not hole a 10ft birdie putt, Findlay notched his first birdie since the opening hole. He hit a great approach shot at the downhill 17th, the ball hitting the stick and coming to rest inches away. That cut the Fraserburgh man's deficit to three but Stewart restored his four-hole advantage with a great birdie 3 at the last.
Stewart outdrove his opponent by a considerable margin down the 18th but his ball ended up behind thistle in the rough. It was a hit-and-hope second shot but it succeeded, leaving him with 20ft past the hole.
Findlay missed his birdie putt from roughly the same distance before Stewart rammed his in for a 3 to go into lunch four up.  It was a potentially "killer" blow for Findlay's hopes even with another possible 18 holes to come in the afternoon.
Stewart was round in an approximate three-under-par 68, having come home in four-under 32.
Findlay had an inward half of 35 for a one-over 72.
SECOND ROUND
Neither player risked having a go for the green from the tee at the 19th Both played conservatively for a half in 4, Stewart missing the green but getting up and down.
Findlay needed to start making inroads on Stewart's lead - and he did it with a birdie 3 at the 20th to get back to three down. The Buchan boy played a majestic low five iron into the wind to within 10ft of the hle - and down the putt.
Stewart had made so few mistakes all day that it came as a surprise when he lost a ball off his second shot at the long 21st and eventually conceded it to Findlay who had won two holes in a row for the first time in the Final. Stewart back to two up after 21.
The sun and the blue skies had long since disappeared to be replaced by menacing dark clouds and it started to rain quite heavily as they played the 22nd, a short hole which was halved in 3s.
The par-4 23rd, 24th and 25th were halved in par figures. Findlay needed to win back another hole or two quickly to have the momentum for the inward half but it was Stewart who missed a 10ft birdie chance at the 24th.
The 25th became the fifth hole in a row to be halved in par. Then the 26th made it six halves on the trot.
Giving Stewart a double bogey 7 at the 21st, where he lost a ball, he was out in an approximate two-over-par 37 in the afternoon to Findlay's one-under 35.
The first hole of the inward half, the 28th, was also halved in par, making seven in a row to be shared.
Findlay missed the green to bogey the 29th - his first bogey in 20 successive holes - and the end of the stalemate put Stewart three up with seven to play.
Stewart had the bit back between his teeth. He hit the green in two at the 480yd par-5 30th hole and sank an 8ft putt for an eagle 3 to go four up with only six to play.
Findlay was not ready to throw in the towel. He hit a great tee shot at the short 31st to 4ft and confidently holed the putt for a 2 to beat Stewart's pitch and putt three. Findlay now three down with five to play.
After a half in 4s at the 32nd, Stewart was in trouble all the way to lost the par-5 33rd to a birdie from Findlay, his second in three holes. Stewart now two up with three to play.
Stewart won the short 34th with a birdie 2 to take the title by 3 and 2. He was one under par for the afternoon round and four under par for the 34 holes in far more testing conditions than they experienced for the semi-finals

Paul O'Hara nosedives in final round on EPD Tour

Paul O'Hara had a disastrous last round of four-over-par 77 to finish joint sixth in this week's EPD Tour event at Winsen an der Luhe, Germany.
O'Hara, who had rounds of 70 and 73 to start with, quickly improved by two shots in his final round with birdies at the first and long fourth but that as as good as it got for the Motherwell man.
He bogeyed the fifth, seventh, ninth, 12th, 14th and 15th in halfves of 36 (one over) and 41 (three over).
Sweden's Gustav Adler won with a three-under-par total of 216, made up of rounds of 74, 68 and 74.
The silver lining for the Scot was that joint sixth place paid him 1,154 Euros, which boosted his season's earnings on the EPD Tour to 15,404 Euros and he is now third on the tour's money table behind Germany's Max Kramer (22,810 Euros) and England's Grant Jackson (16,486 Euros).

SEE ALL THE SCORES BY CLICKING HERE



Boo Weekley (63) is getting better, on and off the course

FROM THE PGA.COM WEBSITE
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West .Virginia. (AP) — Boo Weekley's bum shoulder is improving and the self-proclaimed redneck has put down the fishing pole, hoping it might lead to a win at a tournament not named the Heritage.
Weekley equalled his best round of the year with a 7-under 63 on Friday on the Old White course to vault into second place, four strokes behind leader Jeff Overton, midway through the inaugural Greenbrier Classic.
Weekley hit 17 greens in regulation and had seven birdies during a bogey-free morning round for a two-day total of 10 under.
"I'm excited to play again," Weekley said. "Feels like I can actually come out and compete and don't have to take a bunch of (pain relievers) or nothing where I can play."
The Greenbrier's policy of jackets required for its finer restaurants and $80 million underground casino might not suit Weekley's folksy lifestyle, but the Southerner admits feeling at home among the local fans, who consider him one of their own.
Weekley remembers fans rallying behind him when he played in several Nationwide Tour events in Bridgeport about 3 hours to the north, although he feels West Virginia owes him one after he lost in a playoff in 2006.
"It would be nice if my stars line up," he said.
The avid fisherman and hunter no longer packs the tackle box along with his clubs. Trout-stocked Howard's Creek runs throughout The Greenbrier, including in front of the first and 18th tees, but Weekley isn't giving in to the temptation.
"I put all my stuff up when I come to tournaments now," Weekley said. "I just mostly focus on golf and do my job and be done with it."
Weekley couldn't focus much after tearing a labrum in his left shoulder last year at the TPC Sawgrass. He stopped playing for more than a month and was left with a limited range of motion.
"It's been kind of aggravated like a thorn in me," he said. "Just feel like you can't take it back some days, and some days don't feel like I can come through the ball."
Weekley was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team that beat Europe in 2008 but was ranked No. 172 in the world this week with only three top 10s in the last two years. His only two tour wins were at the 2007 and 2008 Heritage.
After the injury he lost 20 pounds and started feeling better about his game only three weeks ago at the John Deere Classic, when he finished 21st.
He said his shoulder is to the point "where I feel like I can actually swing the club and not have the hesitation at it."
Old White's length and lack of deep rough have led to an assault on the pins, and rains that softened the greens earlier in the week have made solid scoring even more possible.
Overton's 8-under 62 was the low round of the tournament and his best of the year.
He used wedges on all but one approach shot during a bogey-free round to finish two rounds at 14 under.
"I don't really know the last time I was playing with this much confidence," said Overton, who's winless in five years on the PGA Tour. "I'm just kind of getting used to the whole PGA Tour lifestyle."
The 27-year-old Overton, a former Big Ten player of the year at Indiana, needed just 26 putts in his best round of the year. He topped his previous low of 7-under 63 at the Colonial.
Starting on the back nine, Overton came to the par-4 seventh needing to close with three birdies for a 59. His approach from 85 yards landed 18 feet from the pin and he slid his putt to the right. He finished with three straight pars but wasn't disappointed.
The Bloomington, Ind., resident is having his best season with four top five finishes, including three in his last six events. Overton finished second by two strokes each at the Zurich Classic and the Byron Nelson Championship.
Overton is 12th in FedEx Cup points and could vault to No. 2 with a win, depending on the finishes of two players higher than him in the field, Jim Furyk at No. 5 and Matt Kuchar at No. 7.
"Obviously I'd take a win over a second any day of the week - over 100 seconds," Overton said. "You never know when it's your time."
Furyk was 7 under in the Greenbrier Classic and Kuchar was 2 under.
Jimmy Walker (64) and double heart transplant recipient Erik Compton (68) were tied for third place at 9 under. Compton, the first-round co-leader, is playing on a sponsor's exemption.
Walker was poised to overtake Weekley but had two late bogeys.
Aaron Baddeley (65), Briny Baird (65), Chris Stroud (63) and Charles Howell III (67) were six strokes back at 5 under.
Compton couldn't grind out the birdies that dominated his first round, when he tied Matt Every for the lead at 7 under.
Still, Compton, looking to solidify a future either on the PGA Tour or the Nationwide circuit, put himself in good position for the weekend. His highest finish is 30th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
"I was just frustrated because three birdies out here is not acceptable," Compton said. "I need to be a little better keeping it below the hole."
Every made double bogey at the par-5 17th, shot 72 and was nine strokes back.
Carl Pettersson, last week's Canadian Open winner who barely made the cut in that tournament, shot 64 Friday and was at 5 under, three strokes above the cut line.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
126 Jeff Overton 64 62
130 Boo Weekley 67 63
131 Erik Compton 63 68, Jimmy Walker 67 64
132 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 67 65, Chris Stroud 69 63, Briny Baird 67 65, Charles Howell III 65 67
133 Spencer Levin 66 67, Brendon De Jonge 65 68, Pat Perez 64 69, Scott McCarron 67 66, Chris Couch 66 67, Scott Piercy 66 67, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 66 67, Ben Crane 66 67, Jim Furyk 68 65
134 Paul Stankowski 69 65, Davis Love III 68 66, Matt Bettencourt 65 69, D.A. Points 68 66, John Rollins 65 69, Bob Estes 66 68, Troy Matteson 69 65, Jonathan Byrd 69 65, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 66 68
135 Tim Herron 69 66, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 68 67, Steve Flesch 68 67, John Senden (Aus) 68 67, Woody Austin 67 68, Ben Curtis 69 66, Roger Tambellini 69 66, Justin Leonard 67 68, Chad Collins 66 69, Matthew Every 63 72, Tom Gillis 72 63, Brett Wetterich 67 68, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 71 64, Skip Kendall 67 68, Stephen Ames (Can) 68 67
136 Brian Stuard 67 69, Aron Price (Aus) 65 71, Charley Hoffman 70 66, Bill Lunde 69 67, Kevin Sutherland 67 69, Dean Wilson 66 70, Marc Leishman (Aus) 68 68, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 67 69, Michael Bradley 69 67, Chris DiMarco 70 66, Kevin Na 70 66, Charlie Wi (Kor) 69 67, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 68 68, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 66 70, John Huston 71 65, Brandt Snedeker 68 68, Troy Merritt 69 67
137 Charles Warren 69 68, Brent Delahoussaye 68 69, Michael Letzig 72 65, Chris Riley 68 69, Joe Ogilvie 68 69, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 68 69, Graham Delaet (Can) 70 67, Cameron Percy (Aus) 69 68, John Daly 69 68, Jay Williamson 66 71
138 Jonathan Bartlett 70 68, Jeff Quinney 66 72, Brenden Pappas (Rsa) 71 67, Blake Adams 71 67, Joe Durant 70 68, Roland Thatcher 71 67, Craig Bowden 68 70, Nicholas Thompson 70 68, Garrett Willis 71 67, Matt Kuchar 69 69, Derek Lamely 69 69, Ricky Barnes 70 68, J.B. Holmes 69 69, J J Henry 69 69, Cameron Beckman 68 70, Jerod Turner 69 69, Rocco Mediate 70 68
MISSED THE CUT
139 Martin Flores 71 68, Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 68 71, David Toms 70 69, Steve Wheatcroft 70 69, James Driscoll 68 71, John Mallinger 66 73, James Nitties (Aus) 76 63, Bob Sowards 71 68, Will MacKenzie 73 66, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 70 69, Jerry Kelly 70 69, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 71 68, Kevin Streelman 73 66, Paul Goydos 66 73, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 71 68, Drew Weaver 68 71, Johnson Wagner 73 66, Cameron Tringale 74 65
140 Patrick Moore 68 72, Billy Mayfair 70 70, Lee Janzen 67 73, Gary Woodland 71 69, Tom Pernice Jnr. 72 68, Greg Owen (Eng) 68 72, Matthew Jones (Aus) 70 70, Brad Faxon 73 67, George McNeill 64 76, Justin Bolli 68 72, Brett Quigley 72 68, Tim Petrovic 72 68, Alex Hamilton 67 73, Josh Teater 72 68
141 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 71 70, Brian Gay 74 67, Ted Purdy 73 68, Todd Hamilton 73 68, Kevin Stadler 73 68, Jarrod Lyle (Aus) 71 70, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 72 69, Glen Day 71 70
142 Vance Veazey 71 71, Barry Evans 71 71
143 Kenny Perry 75 68, David Morland IV (Can) 73 70, Chris Tidland 71 72, Robert Garrigus 71 72, Steve Lowery 72 71, Sam Saunders 73 70, D.J. Trahan 72 71, Mark Wilson 69 74
144 Brian Davis (Eng) 74 70, John Merrick 70 74, Omar Uresti 73 71
145 David Lutterus (Rsa) 72 73, Kevin Johnson 74 71, Martin Laird (Sco) 69 76, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 74 71, Alex Prugh 73 72
146 Chris Wilson 71 75, Jeff Maggert 71 75, Jeff Gove 75 71, Cliff Kresge 76 70, Henrik Bjornstad (Nor) 73 73, Alex Cejka (Ger) 77 69
147 Michael Connell 76 71
150 Willis Ring 77 73, Rich Barcelo 77 73, Webb Simpson 74 76
151 Mark Hensby (Aus) 76 75
152 Dick Mast 71 81

Langer leads by two as he chases back to back Senior major titles

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) — Bernhard Langer waited much of Friday morning for the soupy fog on the Sammamish Plateau to finally lift. He spent the evening waiting for someone to make a charge up the leaderboard.
In between, Langer put himself in position for a second consecutive major championship.
Langer overcame a shaky front nine with an eagle and birdie on the inward half to take the lead at 3 under in the second round of the U.S. Senior Open as many of the other contenders simply tried to stay close entering the weekend.
After a fog delay of more than two hours brought play to a halt just before 8 a.m., Langer shot a 2-under 68 making a number of key putts on the back nine when his round easily could have slipped away.
"You never quite know. It's the type of golf course that any hole can get to you," said Langer, coming off a victory last week in the Senior British Open at Carnoustie. "You just got to be careful and hit good shots."
Langer was careful, not to mention a little fortunate with the putter Friday. He's the only player with two rounds in the 60s on the par-70 layout at Sahalee Country Club, and will take a two-shot lead into the third round.
If successful this week, Langer would be the first player on the Champions Tour to win consecutive majors since Tom Watson in 2003 in the Senior British Open and Tradition.
But Watson didn't win those titles in back-to-back weeks with eight time zones in between.
"This is a big enough event to pick yourself up and get motivated and get moving," Langer said. "I don't have a lot of problems with that."
While Langer managed to tame the ball-hawking tree limbs of Sahalee, others were far less successful. Only four players finished the second round under par, with another four sitting at even. First-round leader Bruce Vaughan gave back all of his 66 from Thursday before he made the turn. He shot 82.
Little known J.R. Roth had a 66, the best round of the day. He curled in a 25-foot bender on the 18th to finish at 1 under for the tournament. John Cook (68) and Tommy Armour III (68) also were 1 under.
"I think the way USGA sets up the golf course it really is good for me, because I'm just one of those guys that grinds it out," said Roth, playing in his first USGA event in 35 years.
Hometown favourite Fred Couples and Watson led the group at even par. Constantly trying to stretch out his always stiff back, Couples sent a wave of roars echoing between the cedars and firs of Sahalee when he dropped in a tricky 35-foot bender on the par-3 ninth that got Couples back to 1 under. A pair of bogeys early in his back nine pushed Couples to 1 over, but a birdie at No. 16 and pars on the last two holes left Couples right where he started.
"I didn't realize last year that they shot so many under, wherever they played," Couples said about Fred Funk's winning score of 20 under last year at Crooked Stick. "But I think that kind of killed us here because there may not be anyone under par when the tournament is over; it's that hard."
After a bogey at No. 1 and birdie at No. 2, Watson made 14 straight pars before a bogey at the 17th when his tee shot imbedded in the bank near the water hazard in front of the green. Watson took a drop, but chunked his chip and made bogey.
He rebounded with a birdie on the uphill par-4 18th, the second-toughest hole on the course.
Scott Simpson and Tom Kite wer 1 over, four shots back.
He was 1 over on the front nine after missing a short par putt on the ninth, then jump-started his round with an eagle on the long par 5 11th hole, sinking a 40-foot putt for the first eagle on the hole this week. Langer made long par saving putts on Nos. 12 and 15, then birdied the par-3 17th, knocking a 6 iron to six feet. Langer delicately two-putted on the 18th to finish his round.
"I hit it straight and made some putts. It's always the same, isn't it?" Langer said. "Just different venues, different conditions, but it's always same idea, hit it where you're looking and try and play smart."
While scores were generally closer to par than Thursday's first round when just eight players broke par, low scores were still tough to find. Larry Mize was 3 under on his round with two holes to play before a double bogey on his 17th hole. Roberts seemed poised to join Langer at 3 under before a double bogey at the 15th. Cook also made a pair of bogeys on his final three holes.
"Here there's no mystery, you just have to put the ball in the fairway and then you have to hit quality iron shots with the right trajectory and distance," Cook said. "Otherwise, you might as well just pack up and go, because it will eat you alive."
The second round had barely started when fog brought play to a halt. The low cloud deck engulfed the course and made it nearly impossible to see the end of the driving range. Play was stopped at 7:48 a.m. and the delay of 2 hours, 12 minutes pushed the afternoon starting times back. The final groups finished just after 9 p.m.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
137 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 69 68
139 John Cook 71 68, J.r. Roth 73 66, Tommy Armour III 71 68
140 Michael Allen 69 71, Loren Roberts 68 72, Tom Watson 70 70, Fred Couples 70 70
141 Tom Kite 72 69, Scott Simpson 70 71
142 Mark Calcavecchia 69 73, Joe Ozaki (Jpn) 69 73, Chien-Soon Lu (Tpe) 71 71, Javier Sanchez 71 71, J.L. Lewis 72 70
143 Olin Browne 73 70, Eduardo Romero (Arg) 71 72, Larry Mize 74 69, Jay Haas 70 73, Peter Senior (Aus) 73 70
144 Russ Cochran 75 69, Mike Reid 74 70, Keith Fergus 71 73, Tom Lehman 69 75
145 Jeff Hart 73 72, Joey Sindelar 74 71, Mark Wiebe 73 72, Don Pooley 72 73
146 Bruce Fleisher 77 69, Ralph West 71 75, John Morse 72 74, Fred Funk 76 70
147 Tom Purtzer 72 75, Jeff Sluman 73 74, Corey Pavin 72 75, Mark Johnson 75 72, James Mason 75 72, Tim Jackson 68 79, Jim Rutledge (Can) 73 74
148 Bruce Vaughan 66 82, Steven Hudson 73 75, Mike Goodes 73 75, Allen Doyle 72 76, David Frost (Rsa) 76 72, Jeff Thomsen 75 73, Jim Chancey 73 75, Bob Tway 73 75
149 Rich Parker 72 77, Gene Jones 78 71, Craig Stadler 74 75, Jim Roy 76 73, Morris Hatalsky 77 72, Bob Gilder 75 74, Bill Britton 76 73, Rod Spittle (Can) 75 74, Dan Forsman 78 71, John Grace (Ae) 74 75, Jon Fiedler 75 74
150 Gary Hallberg 73 77, Gil Morgan 76 74, Denis Watson (Zim) 79 71, Paul Trittler 77 73, Hal Sutton 73 77, Rod Nuckolls 73 77, Graham Marsh (Aus) 74 76, Mike Lawrence 77 73, Bill Sautter 73 77, Tsukasa Watanabe (Jpn) 75 75, Bob Niger 77 73
MISSED THE CUT
151 Andy Bean 76 75, R.W. Eaks 74 77, Casey Boyns 73 78, Mike Hulbert 75 76, Mark Houser 76 75, Ron Ptacek 72 79, Hale Irwin 73 78, John Jacobs 77 74
152 Ron Vlosich 75 77, John Adams 76 76, Mark O'Meara 75 77, Dave Eichelberger 78 74, Curt Byrum 79 73
153 Phil Blackmar 76 77, Christoffer Lange 75 78, Jerry Johnson 81 72, Rick Lewallen 80 73, Bob Ford (Eng) 79 74, Tommy Brannen 76 77
154 Jerry Courville 77 77, Robin Freeman 77 77, Mitch Adams 77 77
155 David Ogrin 79 76, Tom Jenkins 78 77, Trevor Dodds (Na) 78 77, Tim Parun 81 74
156 Pat Laverty 75 81, Will Copeland 78 78, Dale Douglass 78 78, Mike Donald 76 80, Ken Lacy 77 79
157 Dave Bell 82 75, Brad Bryant 79 78, Stacey Hart 79 78, Steve Krause 78 79, Ben Crenshaw 76 81, Glenn Ralph (Eng) 81 76, Mike Booker 76 81
158 Tom Bryant 79 79, Michael Paul 83 75, Lindy Miller 83 75, Buddy Marucci 76 82, Jeff Klein 80 78, Tom Brandes 82 76, Eddie Terasa 81 77, Kevin Klier 82 76
159 John Vaccaro 80 79, Pat Thompson 74 85, Thomas Herzan 81 78, Fuzzy Zoeller 76 83, Dirk Maust 81 78, Tim Matthews 76 83, Bobby Wadkins 79 80
160 Kim Dolan 79 81, Martin Rifkin 84 76, Ken Palladino 77 83
162 Vinny Giles 81 81, Gary Sowinski 84 78, Dale Tallon (Can) 81 81, Doug Harris 81 81
163 Tim Walton 76 87, Mike Diffley 83 80
164 Tom Cleaver 83 81, Mark Nickeas 83 81
165 Larry Stubblefield 86 79, Jay Norman 82 83, Jim Stormont 84 81, John Paesani 81 84
166 Dave Massey 82 84, Pete Williams 81 85, Gary McClure 78 88
167 Dan Bieber 83 84, Pat Diesu 91 76, Steve Moran 85 82
168 Scott Sullivan 87 81
169 Rick Ten broeck 86 83
170 Tom Norton 80 90
171 Scott Mahlberg 82 89
172 Ned Weaver 84 88, Tommy Robinson 83 89, Mark Battista 91 81
174 Gary Lindeblad 89 85
178 James Ferguson 90 88

Ross Fisher three ahead after a 61 (and it could have been 59)

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
England's Ross Fisher erupted into life again with a 61 in Killarney on Friday - and he needed nobody to tell him it could have been an historic 59.
One of Europe's great talents has been somewhat dormant since winning the Volvo World Match Play in Spain last November.
But his bid for the Ryder Cup debut he just missed last time was reignited by a remarkable charge into a three-stroke halfway lead over Italian Francesco Molinari at the 3 Irish Open.
Six successive birdies for a front-nine 29, then four more in a row from the 11th left Fisher needing just two from the last four to become the European Tour's first player to break 60.
There have been four 59s on the US Tour, the most recent of them by Paul Goydos earlier this month, while Ryo Ishikawa shot 58 in Japan in May and only a few days ago a 17-year-old amateur scored 57 in the Alabama Boys State Junior Championship.
But, like so many before him, Fisher had to settle for the lowest round of his Tour career and not the record.
He missed from six feet at the 15th, only parred the long 16th as well after driving into sand and failed with birdie attempts on the last two.
"I was standing on the 14th green and it (59) did sort of enter my mind," said the 29-year-old, who could leap from 13th to sixth in the cup standings by winning on Sunday.
"I was quite strong mentally to try and block it out of my mind. I just tried to give myself four chances and I did that, but it wasn't meant to be."
As for making it into Colin Montgomerie's side he added: "This is the start of three big weeks, so I just need to go out and play how I know I can - and fingers crossed."
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
130 Ross Fisher 69 61
133 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 66
135 Anders Hansen (Den) 67 68, Padraig Harrington 68 67, Noh Seung-yul (Kor) 66 69, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 66 69, Brett Rumford (Aus) 66 69, Michael Hoey 66 69, David Dixon 67 68, Richard Green (Aus) 65 70, Rory McIlroy 67 68
163 Chris Wood 71 65, Paul McGinley 68 68, Darren Clarke 66 70, Johan Edfors (Swe) 67 69, Marcel Siem (Ger) 66 70, Anton Haig (Rsa) 66 70
163 Damien McGrane 65 72
138 David Drysdale 67 71, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 68 70, Simon Khan 68 70, Paul Lawrie 66 72, Sam Hutsby 69 69
139 David Howell 64 75, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 70, Shane Lowry 74 65, Mark Foster 69 70, Alastair Forsyth 69 70, Steven O'Hara 68 71, Richie Ramsay 71 68, Joost Luiten (Ned) 74 65, Peter Whiteford 70 69, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 72, Paul Broadhurst 68 71, Mark Haastrup (Den) 67 72
140 Danny Lee (Nzl) 67 73, Mark Brown (Nzl) 72 68, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 67 73, Marc Warren 69 71, Anthony Kang (USA) 69 71, Phillip Archer 71 69, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 66 74, Richard Bland 69 71, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 67 73
141 Graeme Storm 70 71, Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 70, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 71, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 69 72, Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 70, Richard McEvoy 69 72, Paul Waring 75 66, Gregory Havret (Fra) 72 69, Ariel Canete (Arg) 69 72, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 68 73, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 70, Markus Brier (Aut) 69 72, Sion Bebb 70 71, Peter Baker 71 70, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 71 70
142 Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 72 70, Julien Quesne (Fra) 71 71, Robert Coles 69 73, Graeme McDowell 70 72, Stephen Gallacher 70 72, Richard Finch 70 72, Pablo Martin (Spa) 73 69, Anthony Wall 72 70, Justin Rose 74 68, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 72 70, Jamie Donaldson 72 70, Barrie Trainor 69 73
MISSED THE CUT
143 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 71 72, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 67 76, David Horsey 72 71, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 72, Damian Mooney 72 71, Andrew Butterfield 72 71, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 70 73, Gary Boyd 72 71, Gareth Maybin 71 72, George Coetzee (Rsa) 70 73
144 David Higgins 72 72, Simon Dyson 70 74, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 69 75, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 68 76, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 72 72, Rafa Echenique (Arg) 76 68, Rhys Davies 72 72, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 69 75, David Lynn 73 71, Phillip Price 70 74
145 Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 72 73, Tano Goya (Arg) 72 73, Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 71 74, Peter Lawrie 72 73, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 74 71, James Kamte (Rsa) 72 73, Simon Thornton 71 74, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 78 67, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 73 72
146 Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 71 75, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 70 76, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 75, David Carter 73 73, John Parry 69 77
147 Colm Moriarty 73 74, Chris Gane 78 69, Andrew Tampion (Aus) 72 75, Steve Webster 72 75, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 71 76, Bradley Dredge 70 77, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa) 72 75, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 72 75
148 Ross McGowan 73 75, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 73 75, Cian Curley 73 75, Alan Dunbar 72 76, Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 76, Paul Cutler 73 75
149 Michael Campbell (Nzl) 72 77, Barry Lane 75 74, Carl Suneson (Spa) 74 75, Scott Strange (Aus) 72 77, Marco Ruiz (Par) 71 78, Peter Martin 75 74
150 Nick Dougherty 73 77, Oliver Fisher 74 76, Daniel Sugrue 74 76
151 Stephen Dodd 74 77, John Kelly 77 74, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 77 74, Chapchai Nirat (Thai) 76 75, Andrew Coltart 79 72
152 Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 74 78, Michael Collins 79 73
153 Gary Murphy 75 78, SSP Chowrasia (Ind) 75 78, David Ryan 75 78
154 Pat Murray 78 76, Gary Lockerbie 77 77, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 71 83, Gary Cullen 77 77
156 Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 77 79
158 Jamie Elson 74 84, James Morrison 75 83
159 Philip Walton 79 80
RTD: Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 75, Sam Little 72

WD: Kenneth Ferrie 77