Langer leads and Kingston contends in   Washington DC at USA Senior PGA

Bernhard Langer carded a seven under par round of 65, eagling the 18th hole to take the outright lead, as play was suspended during the first round of the KitchenAid USA Senior PGA Championship.   After torrential rain forced an 80min delay to the start of the 78th USA Senior PGA Championship, held at Trump National Golf Club for the first time in its history, Langer looked unfazed by the interruption as he took a two-shot lead in his bid to become the first golfer in history to win all five USA Senior Major Championships in their career.   Heading into the week on the back of his victory at the Regions Tradition, the first Senior Major of the 2017 season, it took six holes for the Flordia-based German to make his first birdie.   Five more followed, cancelling out a bogey on the eighth hole and he finished his round in style with an eagle on the last.   “I was pretty pleased,” said Langer. “I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and gave myself opportunities. I missed a couple of chances early on, on two and three, where I had birdie putts from not too far.   “But then I started rolling the ball pretty well on the greens later on. I was pretty happy with my long game, but very happy with my putting. And it all turned out to be a seven under, which is a very good score on this golf course.   “I felt pretty good, not necessarily making everything, but I felt like I hit a lot of good putts. There were one or two other putts that I thought I made, but they just went over the edge, and one actually lipped out. But I also had two or three that went in that don’t go in every day.”   Two strokes behind Langer are Americans Lee Janzen, Tom Lehman, Scott McCarron and European Senior Tour member James Kingston.   The South African started his round with consecutive birdies and reached five under par at the turn. He made gains on the fourth and sixth holes but bogeyed the seventh and eighth to settle for five under.   “I still don’t feel comfortable yet over the ball, but I got things going this morning,” said Kingston. “I hit some good shots and made some good putts. I made two bad swings and it cost me two shots but I have to take five under par for my first round.   “Driving up to the 11th I saw Mark O’Meara was on the third and he was two under, getting a great start. Then I got it to four under through five and I probably had a chance to get to six under on the 18th.   “I had to minimise my mistakes after the two losses and I did, which I’m pleased with.   “To be up with those guys is a great feeling. It’s round one and early days, it’ll be nice to see my name up there on Sunday.”   Larry Mize, winner of the Masters Tournament in 1987, joined the quartet on five under par through ten holes as play was suspended due to inclement weather.   A shot further back is Miguel Angel Jiménez, making his USA Senior PGA Championship debut, who finished his day on the second hole with nine holes still to complete.   Colin Montgomerie, winner of the Alfred S Bourne trophy in 2014 and 2015, is one of seven Senior Tour members on two under par 70 – a score shared by 25 of the 156-man field – including Major Champions Sandy Lyle and Vijay Singh.   TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES CLICK HERE

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