Langer doesn't miss anchored putter as he 

shoots 11 birdies at Chubb Classic

Bernhard Langer ( Associated Press )

 

By Adam Schupak (GolfWeek.com) 

NAPLES, Florida – So much for all the doom and gloom that Bernhard Langer suddenly would go to pieces without an anchored putter. The German poured in 11 birdies – one off the US PGA Champions Tour record – en route to a 10-under 62 and a four stroke lead over Jay Haas after the first round of the Chubb Classic.
“He’s like a Rolls Royce,” Jim Thorpe said. “He just keeps rolling along.”
Langer fiddled with two putters last night and again this morning on the practice putting green before deciding to stick with the long putter and employing a legal, unanchored stroke.
“It was the right decision, I think,” he said.
Langer, who is seeking his 26th title on the over-50 circuit, took just 23 putts today and had two separate strings of five birdies in a row in tying the low first-round score here. He missed two putts from 6 feet or less, but countered with a 35-footer on 9 and a 40-footer at 17 for birdies.
“That’s a pretty amazing round,” Haas said, “I don’t care what course you’re playing on.”
When Langer used the broomstick in Hawaii in January, some observers thought he was making a statement to golfers that the long putter didn’t need to be put out to pasture just because of the anchoring ban, which went into effect Jan. 1 (Rule 14-1b). 
He said he will take advantage of the next month to perfect his craft, and could switch to using the Kuchar grip, which he used to win the 1993 Masters, or a conventional-length putter with an orthodox grip. (The next  Champions Tour event is not until March 18-20.)
“Am I enjoying it? Not really,” he said. “I’ve been putting for hours and hours the last 6 weeks. It’s distracting. All the time I’m putting into putting I could be putting into other things. I wish I didn’t have to change.”
The fact that he still is unsettled suggests none of the strokes is up to his standard – yet. Even after Friday’s sublime performance he remained on the fence about the rest of the tournament.
“There’s a chance I might still practise a little bit with my other putter, the Kuchar-style putter, because that doesn’t feel too bad either, and then decide again tomorrow morning what’s going to happen,” Langer said.

---

Jan Haas caddies for hubby Jay, shoots 66

Jay Haas ( Associated Press )

In need of a caddie this week, Jay Haas turned to his better half, Jan, and together they pieced together a bogey-free 6-under 66 in the first round of the Chubb Classic. “I always wanted to do it,” she said. “I told him, ‘I’m available so let’s give it a whirl.’ ”
She was called into duty because her hubby’s regular caddie, Tommy Lamb, is on the bag for Steve Stricker at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. 
 Son Bill is busy competing at the AT and T too, but Jay Junior., who caddies for Scott Stallings currently on the PGA Tour, had an off-week and could’ve pitched in.
“I told him, ‘If things go bad I’ll fly you down,’ and he told me, ‘I’ll be ready,’ ” Jan said. “But I’m not calling him. I think I did just fine.”
It was her first time lugging a bag since a British Open qualifier way back when. “But that was with a trolley,” she said.
Jay and Jan met at the 1977 Heritage Classic when Jan placed a small wager in a family pool on “a young, up-and coming no-name” and went out to watch him play. Jay, fresh out of Wake Forest, shot 71 and trailed by six after the first round. Still, Jan returned to see if he’d improve, and Jay spotted the same fetching blonde in his gallery.
“I said to my caddie, ‘If that girl is out here Saturday, she is either following you or me and it’s probably me,’ ” Jay recalled.
There she was by the first green. The rest as they say is history. All these years later, Jan is still Jay’s good luck charm, inspiring him to his best ballstriking round in recent memory.
“It worked out great. I was almost focused on her and making sure she was in the right place,” said Jay, who made all six birdie putts from inside 20 feet. “It was probably as good as I’ve played in a year or more,”
Haas, 62, is coming off what he termed his worst season since joining the over-50 circuit. He dropped from 17 top-10 finishes in 21 starts in 2014 down to just one last year in 15 appearances. He opened the year with a share of fourth place in Hawaii and T-15 last week at the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Florida
Afterwards, Jan was slow to remove and turn in her caddie bib.
“Oh,” she said, “I was hoping I can keep it.”
Maybe on Sunday, she was told.
.