Champions Tour

Goydos hangs on to win Dick’s Open on Champions Tour

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Paul Goydos (Drew Hallowell/ Getty Images)

ENDICOTT, N.Y. – Paul Goydos likes to say his golf game is two good rounds, then a mediocre one.

“That’s kind of all tournaments, not just here,” he said before playing in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

Last year, he did just that at En-Joie Golf Club, fading late while challenging for the lead and losing to Jeff Maggert by two shots.

For one day at least, Goydos didn’t follow that script. He shot a bogey-free 69 on Sunday to beat Wes Short Jr. (69) by two shots on a tricky day at En-Joie buffeted by gusting winds, finishing at 14-under 202 for his third career victory on the Champions Tour.

“My game is like a jack-in-the box, kind of keep spinning it and it pops up every once in a while,” Goydos deadpanned afterward. “There was no inkling that I was going to play well, other than the mythical law of averages. Things hadn’t gone well, hadn’t played well, my attitude was bad, so naturally I won.”

Qualifier Neal Lancaster (70) was alone in third at 11 under, while John Riegger (72) finished tied for fourth at 10 under with Joe Durant (68).

Glen Day (69) and Kevin Sutherland (69) were another shot back in a tie for sixth.

John Daly (73) was three shots behind to start and couldn’t muster anything. He made bogey at the par-5 fifth hole and another at No. 9 to make the turn at 7 under, where he finished.

First-round leader Scott Dunlap began the overcast day one shot off the lead and took himself out of contention with a disastrous second hole. Dunlap twice plunked shots into the greenside water hazard at the par 4, a 379-yard dogleg left, and carded a quintuple-bogey 9. He finished with a 75 to tie Daly.

Goydos began play tied for the lead at 11 under with Riegger and was the steadiest of the leaders, carding eight pars and making birdie at the par-4 sixth hole while none of the others staged a threat in difficult conditions. A birdie at No. 10 dropped him to 13 under, three shots ahead of Riegger, Short and Lancaster.

Riegger, who played the first two rounds without making bogey, had his streak end with a bogey on Sunday’s opening hole. He had another at the par-3 fourth hole after having recovered with a pretty fairway chip for eagle at the par-5 No. 3, but another bogey at No. 10 dropped him to 10 under in a three-way tie for second.

Riegger’s strength over the first two rounds had been his play at the generous par-5s, having gone 7 under, and his streak of excellence on the holes continued on the back side. At the par-5 No. 12, he notched his second straight eagle at the hole to move within a shot of Goydos.

Despite another bogey at No. 14, Riegger was still within striking distance at No. 16 and rallied once more. He drove the trees right at the short par 4 but rallied for birdie. Unfazed, Goydos, who played it safe on the hole by laying up short of the elevated green that’s guarded by a handful of bunkers, matched Riegger’s birdie to maintain his two-shot edge.

“I mean, John couldn’t have hit a better putt,” Goydos said. “He hit that putt and I’m like, ‘Wow!’ I was very happy with the way I kind of didn’t rush it. I kind of stayed in my routine, kind of went through whatever I needed to do to hit a good putt.”

Both drove into the bunker on the right of the green at No. 17, their balls sitting side-by-side in the white sand, and only Goydos escaped. After Riegger hit out past the pin and two-putted for bogey, Goydos blasted to 4 feet and saved par.

“John hit a nice bunker shot. Him going first I think was an advantage for me,” Goydos said.

Riegger also made bogey at 18 to slip back further.

Lancaster, in only his second tournament of the year, watched his chances fade when his tap-in putt for birdie at No. 16 lipped out while trailing by two shots.

“I guess just so close you kind of took it for granted,” Lancaster said. “I just think it’s nerves. I feel like I should have won the tournament.”

Calgary’s Stephen Ames finished in a tie for 23rd at 4-under. Jim Rutledge of Victoria posted a 3-under on the day to earn a share of 39th, while St. Catharines, Ont., native Rod Spittle finished T66.

Champions Tour

Ames tied for sixth after 2nd round; Goydos, Riegger share lead on Champions Tour

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Stephen Ames (Scott Halleran/ Getty Images)

ENDICOTT, N.Y. – John Riegger wasn’t sure he’d be able to play the second round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open because of a lingering case of shingles. The pain subsided long enough for him to show his first round wasn’t a fluke.

Riegger followed his opening 66 with a 5-under 67 Saturday and is tied with Paul Goydos (66) for the lead at 11-under 133.

“It’s kind of gone away, but the pain is still there and it’s just an after-effect of the attacks of the nerves,” Riegger said after his second straight bogey-free round. “I think it’s just the fact that I’ve gotten used to it and dealing with it a little bit better. I know that nothing’s going to happen to me.”

First-round leader Scott Dunlap (70) was third at 10 under. Wes Short Jr. and Monday qualifier Neal Lancaster also shot 66 and shared fourth, another shot back at En-Joie Golf Club.

John Daly and Calgary’s Stephen Ames shot 68 and were tied for sixth at 8 under with Bart Bryant (70), who is trying to become the first repeat winner of this Champions Tour event since its inception in 2007.

Victoria’s Jim Rutledge shot even-par to move into a tie for 62nd, and Rod Spittle of St. Catharines, Ont., follows three strokes behind with a share of 72nd.

Riegger thrived on the four par-5s on the narrow, tree-lined course. On Saturday, he birdied two of the three on the front side and eagled No. 12, the final par 5.

This will be the first time Riegger has had the lead, or a share of it, entering the final round of a Champions Tour event.

“I’m just trying to hope that I wake up tomorrow and I feel all right and I can play,” he said.

Goydos had four birdies and two bogeys on the front nine. But after another bogey on the back side he finished with a flourish – birdie at the tough par-4 15th hole that’s guarded by an imposing water hazard, eagle at the par-4 16th hole, and birdie at No. 17.

“You go from 7 under to 11 under, I’m still stunned a little bit myself,” said Goydos, who drove the green at 16 to set up the lone eagle at the hole over two rounds. “If you had strokes gained with lucky bounces, I would be leading that right now by a large margin.”

Daly, who turned 50 in April, is making his seventh Champions Tour start. It’s his first appearance at En-Joie since the 1995 B.C. Open on the PGA Tour. He won there in 1992 and the gallery hasn’t forgotten.

“It helps, and it always helps when you’re playing good, you feed off of it,” Daly said. “A lot of times when things aren’t going good, the fans kind of pump me up to keep hanging in there.”

Daly had five birdies and a bogey on the front nine and two birdies and two bogeys on the back.

“I just remember that when I did win here, I felt comfortable off the tees, although it’s not showing this week,” he said. “I feel like I can hit the fairways, but I’m just not executing a lot of them.”

Short started strong, notching four birdies and an eagle over the first 11 holes before a three-putt par at No. 12. The 52-year-old Texan finished with seven straight pars.

“Anytime you can be close going into the last nine holes, that’s what you really want – to have a chance to win it,” he said.

Jeff Maggert won this tournament last year, beating Goydos by two shots. Nobody will have to worry about Maggert this time. The defending champion was at 1 under and out of contention.

Champions Tour

Calgary’s Stephen Ames sits T9 as Scott Dunlap leads at Dick’s

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Stephen Ames (Scott Halleran/ Getty Images)

ENDICOTT, N.Y. – Scott Dunlap glanced at his scorecard and could only smile.

“Well, bogeying the first hole is usually my best way to start a round,” he joked. “I did that, so I knew it was going to be a good day.”

Was it ever.

After that bogey on the opening hole at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, Dunlap rallied with four birdies in a five-hole span, then reeled off five straight birdies to start the back nine en route to an 8-under 64 on Friday at En-Joie Golf Club.

Since finishing second in April at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, Dunlap’s best showing was a tie for 17th at the Principal Charity Classic a month ago.

“I guess you never know,” Dunlap said. “In current form, today certainly wasn’t in the cards. The golf course was kind of there for the taking a little bit.”

Glen Day, Bart Bryant and John Riegger were tied for second at 66 after the first round.

Day ranks in the top 10 in driving accuracy on the Champions Tour, a big advantage on the narrow, tree-lined En-Joie layout.

“Obviously, here it helps great, and I did hit the driver good,” Day said. “I played well here in the past, in the old days. I’m very comfortable around the golf course. I see the golf course very well, so I’m excited about playing two more days.”

Day’s round included six birdies and no bogeys as he hit the ball close to the pin all day. His closing birdie at 18 gave him a one-stroke lead until Dunlap’s back-nine burst.

“Eighteen was the longest putt I made, and it was maybe 10 feet, so I hit the ball really good,” he said. “I’m very pleased.”

Gibby Gilbert III, Kevin Sutherland, Paul Goydos and Joe Durant were in a tie for fifth at 5 under. Calgary’s Stephen Ames collected six birdies on the day and is among nine players at 4-under, including Jay Haas, Steve Lowery and John Daly.

Daly, making his first appearance at En-Joie since the 1995 B.C. Open, started in the final threesome and quickly climbed the leaderboard. He birdied four of the first seven holes, including a long putt at the par-5 5th that lipped the cup before dropping and a 5-footer at the par-3 7th. He then faltered with two bogeys, the first coming at the par-5 8th where a long hitter like Daly normally has an edge.

“I had my moments,” said Daly, who won the 1992 B.C. Open. “I didn’t really get the par-5s the way I wanted to, but I don’t know, I hit it pretty good, made a couple putts, missed a couple.

“But, you know, if you hit the fairways out here and you’re putting half decent, you can really score low on it because the course is in great shape.”

At the Principal Charity Classic in June, Riegger was tied for second after an opening-round 67 but faltered to finish 14 shots behind winner Scott McCarron. That he was able to complete Friday’s round and be near the top of the leaderboard again was an accomplishment in itself as he continues to suffer with a case of shingles.

“I may feel great tomorrow, I might not be able to play, I don’t know,” he said. “I wasn’t able to even tee it up at the Players Championship this year because of it, so I’ll see. Go get worked on and see what happens.”

Rod Spittle of St. Catharines, Ont., opened at even-par and sits T49, while Victoria’s Jim Rutledge holds a share of 67th at 3-over.

There won’t be as much time as usual. A short but drenching rain shower soaked the course for less than 5 minutes in late afternoon on Friday. Because of the threat of storms on Saturday, the first groups will go off the 1st and 10th tees starting at 7:45 a.m. The leaders will tee off at 9:40 a.m.

Champions Tour

Triplett rallies to win Champions event in Wisconsin

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Kirk Triplett (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

MADISON, Wis. – Kirk Triplett rallied to win the inaugural American Family Insurance Championship on Sunday for his fifth PGA Tour Champions title, making four straight birdies in front of another large crowd at University Ridge.

The 54-year-old Triplett shot a 7-under 65 to finish at 17-under 199, two strokes ahead of Bart Bryant and Mike Goodes.

Triplett birdied the par-4 13th, 14th and 15th and par-5 16th, saved par with a 6-footer on the par-3 17th and parred the par-4 18th. The three-time PGA Tour winner played the front nine in 3 under, dropped a stroke on the par-4 10th and birdied the par-5 11th.

Bart Bryant, the leader at 17 under after a birdie on 14, had a 69. He made a triple-bogey 7 on the 15th after losing his ball when it sailed to the right off the tee.

Goodes shot a 68.

Third-round leader Jean-Francois Remesy of France had a 71 to tie for fourth at 14 under with Fran Quinn (67), Billy Andrade (68) and Gene Sauers (70).

Bernhard Langer finished with a 69 to tie for 13th at 11 under. The 58-year-old German star was coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Constellation Senior Players Championship.

John Daly had a 66 – his best round in his first six events on the tour – to tie for 36th at 7 under.

Hometown PGA Tour player Steve Stricker helped launch the event and is the tournament host. He turns 50 in February and will be eligible to play next year.

Champions Tour

Remesy takes Champions lead in Wisconsin

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Jean-Francois Remesy (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

MADISON, Wis. – Jean-Francois Remesy had two eagles in an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take the second-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ inaugural American Family Insurance Championship.

The last alternate to get into the field after losing a playoff in a Monday qualifier, the 52-year-old Frenchman holed out for eagle from 92 yards with a 52-degree wedge on the par-4 first. He also eagled the par-5 11th, and had four birdies in the bogey-free round to reach 13-under 131 at University Ridge.

“If I can afford the bogeys, game is OK, putting is OK,” Remesy said. “I feel great. It is a dream to come and play in the States.”

Making his seventh start on the 50-and-over circuit, the two-time French Open champion is one of the tour’s smallest players at 5-foot-8 and 148 pounds.

Gene Sauers and Bart Bryant were a stroke back. Sauers, tied for the first-round lead with Estaban Toledo after an opening 63, had a 69. He’s is in contention two weeks after withdrawing from the Constellation Senior Players Championship because of a bulging disk.

“I’m still right there, so I’m OK,” Sauers said. “I put a lot of pressure on probably all parts of my game today, driving, all irons. I wasn’t making the putts, leaving them all short, leaving myself 3-, 4-, 5-footers for par. Hopefully, things will be a little different tomorrow, I can relax and calm down and get into the zone again like I was the first day.”

Bryant birdied the final hole for a 66. He won his lone tour title in 2013.

“I actually did not drive the ball great today, which is usually my strong point,” Bryant said. “But I made a boatload of putts, and I think whenever you have a great tournament you look back, that’s usually what the catalyst is. I made a huge putt on No. 8, probably a 40- or 50-footer, then I made another 20-footer there on the last hole and a couple other 15-footers.”

Large crowds again followed the players in the event that hometown PGA Tour player Steve Stricker helped launch and hosts. He turns 50 in February and will be eligible to play next year.

Mike Goodes (66) was 11 under, and Kirk Triplett (66), Billy Andrade (67) and Kevin Sutherland (69) were 10 under.

Bernhard Langer was 8 under after a 69. The 58-year-old German star is coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Constellation Senior Players Championship, his second major win of the year. He has three overall victories this year to push his senior total to 28.

Wes Short Jr. also was in the group at 8 under, following an opening 72 with a 64. He was 7 under in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, making a hole-in-one on the 12th and five birdies.

“The back side was a lot of fun,” Short said. “There’s a lot of birdie holes out there. You can get it going on that back side. You know, get 2 or 3-under on the front, and then the back side is where you can kind of take advantage of the course.”

He used a 7-iron on the 194-yard 12th.

“It started a little bit left and the wind drifted it back,” Short said. “I thought it was going to be close, but then it disappeared. Only second hole-in-one I made in competition, so that was pretty fun.”

Toledo shot a 79 to drop into a tie for 47th at 2 under. He had a quadruple-bogey 9 on No. 9.

John Daly had a 72 to remain 1 under. He’s making his sixth tour start since turning 50 in late April.

Champions Tour

Sauers, Toledo top PGA Tour Champions in Wisconsin

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Gene Sauers (Hunter Martin/ Getty Images)

MADISON, Wis. – Gene Sauers rebounded from a bulging disk to share the first-round lead with Estaban Toledo on Friday in the PGA Tour Champions’ inaugural American Family Insurance Championship.

The 53-year-old Sauers matched Toledo with a 9-under 63 in front of large galleries at University Ridge. Sauers withdrew from the Constellation Senior Players Championship two weeks ago in Pennsylvania because of the disk problem.

“I had to go home, see my doctor, and I didn’t play for like seven, eight days,” Sauers said. “Of course, we had the week off prior, which was great, which helped me. And saw my teacher at home, he got me kind of straightened out. Coming here this week I had a lot of good thoughts coming into this week. … Hopefully, I can make it the next few more days.”

Sauers closed his bogey-free round with a birdie on the par-5 ninth.

“It’s a great golf course,” Sauers said. “The front side is kind of wide open and then the back nine is tree-lined, so it’s a good mixture. The golf course is in great shape. The greens are perfect. What more can you ask for? You know, shooting 9 under is pretty good out here on this track. It’s not a real easy golf course. You’ve got to just concentrate on fairways and greens and give yourself opportunities.”

The three-time PGA Tour winner has successfully fought the rare skin condition Stevens-Johnson syndrome to continue his career. He has four runner-up finishes in 81 career starts on the 50-and-over tour.

Toledo made five straight birdies on his first nine, added three more on Nos. 1, 2 and 4 and capped his bogey-free round with another on the ninth. The 53-year-old Mexican player won the Allianz Championship in February for his fourth senior title.

Fran Quin was a stroke back, making six birdies in an eight-hole stretch that ended on the par-5 16th. The 51-year-old Quin has finished in the top 25 in all three of his tour starts this year.

Kevin Sutherland and Tom Byrum shot 65, and Fred Funk, Duffy Waldorf, Loren Roberts and Bart Bryan followed at 66.

Large crowds followed the players in event that hometown PGA Tour player Steve Stricker helped launch and hosts. He turns 50 in February and will be eligible to play next year.

“We can’t ask for anything more,” Sutherland said. “There was a lot of people out there today. It was amazing to see everybody out here. I think it says a locality about Steve Stricker, about the way people feel about him around here, and they should. He’s a tremendous human being, he’s obviously a great golfer. So this says a lot about Steve, says a lot about Madison. It’s been fantastic.”

Bernhard Langer topped the group at 67. The 58-year-old German star is coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Constellation Senior Players Championship, his second major win of the year. He has three overall victories this year to push his senior total to 28.

“I just didn’t make any putts on the back nine,” Langer said. “Played pretty good, but the greens were a bit on the slow side, so I left a couple short and didn’t get it close enough. But overall it’s a solid round. I’m right there. Got two days to catch up.”

John Daly opened with a 71, also finishing with a birdie on No. 9. He’s making his sixth tour start since turning 50 in late April.

St. Catharines, Ont., resident Rod Spittle and Victoria B.C., native Jim Rutledge shot matching 70s for shares of 42nd.

Champions Tour

Daly commits to Calgary’s Shaw Charity Classic

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John Daly (Jeff Curry/Getty Images)

CALGARY—The bad boy of golf, John Daly, has confirmed he will be driving his bus to Calgary this summer to  bomb it off the tee at the 2016 Shaw Charity Classic, August 31 – September 4.

The country boy from Arkansas, who is the newest rookie to star on the Champions Tour, has been in high demand since reaching life’s half-century mark on April 28. One of the most colourful characters in professional sports, the two-time major champion and winner of five PGA TOUR titles is one of the most adored by golf fans around the globe, which has helped spiked galleries over the last six weeks on the senior circuit.

“John Daly is one of a handful of players in professional golf who is a needle mover,” said Sean Van Kesteren, executive director, Shaw Charity Classic. “Sport is entertainment, and John is exactly who fans of any sporting event want to come out and see. He is extremely talented. He still hits the ball a mile, and is a colourful character that is very entertaining while interacting with his loyal fan base. Having John Daly commit to playing in Calgary simply takes our tournament to a new level.”

Daly is excited to be back playing full-time on a Tour that will bring him to Calgary.

“I’m very excited about it. For me, it’s been seven years since I had a good schedule. My golf game hasn’t been that great, but I have been working really hard lately and I’m excited to have a full schedule and start a new chapter,” said Daly just days after his 50th birthday.

Always straight up with fans and media, Daly is renowned for having one of the largest galleries on any professional golf tour through good times and bad. Daly’s life full of public problems has pulled his loyal fans even closer to him.

“I’ve always said I’ve got the greatest fans in the world, and Calgary is no different. No matter what, through thick and thin, they’ve always stuck by me,” said Daly. “I hear the Shaw Charity Classic already attracts huge galleries. The fans pump me up and I feed off them. I always have and I probably always will. There is nothing better than getting it going and having the fans get loud and crazy. That’s just the way I like them so I’m looking forward to driving the bus up to Canada and hopefully give the fans something to get loud about.”

A wild backstory and unpredictable style, Daly has played in five events on the PGA TOUR Champions and is still searching for his first victory. His best finish is 15th at the Regions Tradition.

Daly joins World Golf Hall of Fame Members, Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer, who have already committed to play in the award-winning Shaw Charity Classic.

Champions Tour

Bernhard Langer wins windy Senior Players Championship

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Bernhard Langer (Ryan Young/PGA TOUR)

FLOURTOWN, Pa. – Bernhard Langer won the Constellation Senior Players Championship for the third straight year, holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a one-stroke victory at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club.

The 58-year-old German star won his seventh senior major title – his fifth in the last 11 majors – to tie Hale Irwin for second place on the career list, a victory behind Jack Nicklaus.

“It was a tough, tough day,” Langer said. “The wind was so gusty and so strong at times, I was wondering if they were going to call the tournament today. The ball was oscillating a lot and there were a few putts, if you hit them at the wrong time, the ball would have just continued to go.”

Three strokes ahead at 2 under entering the round on the difficult Wissahickon Course, Langer closed with a 3-over 73 to finish at 1-over 281 – the highest winning score in the history of the event first played in 1983. Mark O’Meara had the previous record at 7 under in 2010 at TPC Potomac in Maryland.

In contention this year at the Masters, Langer held off Miguel Angel Jimenez and Joe Durant, saving bogey with a 6-footer on the par-4 17th and getting his birdie putt to drop on the par-4 18th after it caught the edge and circled the cup.

“I didn’t make anything until I made about a 6-footer on 17 and a 12-footer on 18, that was about it,” Langer said. “Made nothing all day and had many opportunities. Now, you know, whether that was me or the wind or the greens, who knows, but it was difficult and I don’t think there were many good scores.”

Langer parred 10 of the first 11 holes on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed layout, making a bogey on the par-3 third. He also bogeyed the par-4 12th and was fortunate to escape with the bogey on 17.

“My patience was good, it really was good all day,” Langer said. “I was fortunate that I was never really caught. I think I was always in the lead all day, even though it dwindled to one or two at a time, but I was always in the lead. So even though I made some bogeys here and there, I still kept my nose in front. … I just couldn’t make the putts.”

Langer became the oldest winner in the history of the tournament and earned a spot next year spot in The Players Championship. He won in 2014 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh and last year at Belmont in Massachusetts.

“It feels great to have achieved the hat trick in this tournament the last three years,” Langer said. “It’s amazing, I still have to pinch myself to realize what happened.

Langer has three victories this year, also winning the Chubb Classic in Florida in February and the major Regions Tradition last month in Alabama.

“When you keep winning, confidence breeds success and success breeds confidence,” Langer said. “When you’re constantly up there, it’s like when Tiger (Woods) was up there almost every time he teed it up, he’s used to that. You get used to the pressure, you get used to being in the hunt and you get used to winning.”

The two-time Masters champion is third on the tour victory list with 28, one behind Lee Trevino. Irwin is the leader with 45.

“Well, he’s Bernhard Langer, you know?” Jimenez said. “He’s a top class player for many, many years. He’s an outstanding player. Still very fit, still strong, still passion with golf.”

Jimenez and Durant each shot 68 for the low rounds of the day.

It’s tough from the very beginning all day long,“ Jimenez said. ”Par is good in this condition, it’s very good. … The golf course is a magnificent golf course. Beautiful. People say it’s always nice and we play with a lot of wind here, but the condition of the course is perfect and it’s a great track.“

Durant birdied the 15th and 18th holes.

“What a beautiful golf course,” Durant said. “We’re having a ball playing here, it’s just very hard. The wind hasn’t been down at all the entire week and it’s just been tough, and when it dries out it makes it that much tougher.”

Brandt Jobe was fourth at 3 over after a 71.

“It was swirling so hard,” Jobe said. “I mean, from 105 yards we played a 150-yard shot, so how do you gauge that? But the golf course is playable. We had to have gusts over 40 today. It was brutal, but I think today was the toughest day because it was hard to putt.”

Champions Tour

Bernhard Langer all alone under par at windy Senior Players

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Bernhard Langer (Traci Edwards/PGA of America - Getty Images)

FLOURTOWN, Pa.  Bernhard Langer was all alone under par at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club.

The 58-year-old German star also was in position to win the Constellation Senior Players Championship for the third straight year, shooting a 1-under 69 on Saturday to reach 2-under 208 and take a three-stroke lead over Jay Don Blake with a round left.

After playing the first 11 holes in 2 over with two birdies and four bogeys, Langer birdied the par-4 12th to get back to even par for the tournament. He added birdies on the par-5 15th and par-3 16th and closed with two pars on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon Course.

Langer won in 2014 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh and last year at Belmont in Massachusetts. He won the Regions Tradition last month in Alabama for his sixth senior major and 27th tour victory.

Blake birdied the par-4 18th for a 71. Jeff Sluman (70), Woody Austin (71), Wes Short Jr. (72), Bart Bryant (72) and Brandt Jobe (74) were tied for third at 2 over. Bryant birdied the 18th after dropping four strokes in a late four-hole stretch with a double bogey and two bogeys.

Vijay Singh was tied for 31st at 8 over. He followed rounds of 69 and 74 with a 75.

John Daly had a 70 to move into a tie for 59th at 12 over. He opened with two 76s.

St. Catharines, Ont., resident Rod Spittle is T67.

Champions Tour

Jobe leads Senior Players, Langer stroke back

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Brandt Jobe (Jeff Curry/ Getty Images)

FLOURTOWN, Pa. – Two-time defending champion Bernhard Langer pulled within a stroke of leader Brandt Jobe on Friday in the Constellation Senior Players Championship.

Langer shot a 2-under 68 at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club in the third of the PGA Tour Champions’ five major championships. Jobe topped the leaderboard at 2 under after his second straight 69.

Scott Dunlap had a 69 to match Langer at 1 under.

First-round leader Jay Don Blake (72) was even par with Wes Short Jr. (69) and Bart Bryant (71). Tom Byrum had a 67, the best score of the week, to join Woody Austin (70) at 1 over.

Vijay Singh followed his opening 69 with a 74 to drop to 3 over.

John Daly had his second straight 76. He’s playing his fifth event since turning 50 in late April.

Rod Spittle of St. Catharines, Ont., carded a 77 and sits T79.