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POSTED: Saturday, January 24, 2009

KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii » The best putt Bernhard Langer made all day was from 12 feet for par.

It kept him from going 2 over and keyed an incredible birdie run that moved him from near the bottom of the elite 34-man field to a tie at the top in yesterday's opening round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

               

     

 

Leaderboard         After first round:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Brad Bryant 32-32—64 -8 Bernhard Langer 35-29—64 -8 Hale Irwin 32-33—65 -7 Jeff Sluman 31-34—65 -7 Jay Haas 34-31—65 -7 R.W. Eaks 31-35—66 -6 Tom Kite 33-33—66 -6 Jerry Pate 34-33—67 -5 Andy Bean 33-34—67 -5 Mike Reid 36-32—68 -4 Gil Morgan 32-36—68 -4 Ben Crenshaw 34-34—68 -4 John Cook 34-34—68 -4

The German birdied nine of his final 12 holes, including seven on the back side, to catch Brad Bryant at 8-under 64 and share the first-round lead. In all, 21 players in the field landed in the 60s.

Despite this amazing stretch, Langer and Bryant are only one shot clear of Hale Irwin, Jeff Sluman and Jay Haas, and two shots removed from Tom Kite and R.W. Eaks, who managed a rare double eagle at the par-5 seventh en route to his 66.

Bryant's move to the top of the leaderboard was more conventional than that of Langer, whose 29 on the back nine is one of those rare accomplishments in golf. Bryant shot a pair of 32s to ease past clubhouse leader Irwin and hold off Sluman, who managed only two birdies on the back to go with the blistering 31 he carded on the front.

“;The greens are so perfect here, you know it's going to be a birdie fest,”; Bryant said. “;If the wind stays like this, it suits my game. My day went very well for me.”;

But as well as Bryant played, Langer's day was special. He once shot a 60 in Europe where he said he missed a birdie from 3 feet and also had a three-putt that kept him from shooting that rare 59.

“;That's golf,”; Langer said of that 1997 personal best at the Mercedes German Masters.

That attitude served him well yesterday, as he didn't get down on himself when he noticed all the rounds in the 60s as he walked off the par-5 seventh with his first birdie of the day. At that point, he trailed Irwin by seven shots and knew he needed to go low if he wanted a chance to win.

“;I just got into the groove,”; Langer said of his about-face. “;I was a bit shaky in the beginning. Left three putts short on the front nine. I just didn't hit the ball close enough, but from that point on (after the par save at the sixth) I just started hitting some good shots and made some putts.”;

If only it were that easy for everyone. While Langer said he never made a putt from more than 15 feet, Bryant dropped in several bombs of 20 feet or more to keep his round going in a downward direction. It's not the first time he has led in this winners-only tournament. He shot a 63 in 2007 to take the first-day lead, only to fade down the stretch as Irwin rallied to win this event for a second time.

Irwin grabbed the clubhouse lead with a 65 yesterday after taking a leisurely approach during the offseason. Instead of banging balls, he played golf with his wife and son, working on the basics—and he was hopeful yesterday's 7 under was a start of good things to come.

He hasn't won since this event in 2007 and had a forgettable 2008 in which he managed no top 10s. The man with the most wins in Champions Tour history would like nothing better than to be the oldest golfer ever to win on the senior circuit.

History here in Hawaii is on his side.

“;It's good to be back in the press room. I haven't been here in a while,”; Irwin said, then smiled. “;I appreciate days like these because you know there aren't many more like them.”;

If he wants to be holding his 46th Champions Tour trophy, he'd best go low again over the weekend because as Bryant put it, “;Somebody is going to.”;

Haas and Sluman had plenty of birdies as well. It was the 10th straight round in the 60s here for Haas, who has never won at Hualalai, and it was the 26th consecutive round of par or better for Sluman dating back to last year.

“;I didn't even know that,”; said Sluman, who is playing here for the first time.

“;Obviously, you've got to go low here because the conditions were benign. I enjoyed coming here because the temperature is 26 below in Chicago (where he lives).

“;The week at the Sony Open helped me get ready. It gave me an advantage over other guys in the field here because I've already played in tournament conditions.”;

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Mitsubishi Electric Championship

At Hualalai Resort Golf Club
Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii
Purse: $1.8 million
Yardage: 7,107; Par 72 (36-36)
First Round

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Brad Bryant	32-32	—	64
Bernhard Langer	35-29	—	64
Hale Irwin	32-33	—	65
Jeff Sluman	31-34	—	65
Jay Haas	34-31	—	65
R.W. Eaks	31-35	—	66
Tom Kite	33-33	—	66
Jerry Pate	34-33	—	67
Andy Bean	33-34	—	67
Mike Reid	36-32	—	68
Gil Morgan	32-36	—	68
Ben Crenshaw	34-34	—	68
John Cook	34-34	—	68
Mark James	36-33	—	69
Allen Doyle	35-34	—	69
Bruce Lietzke	36-33	—	69
Tom Purtzer	34-35	—	69
Jim Thorpe	35-34	—	69
Mark McNulty	36-33	—	69
Tom Watson	34-35	—	69
D.A. Weibring	35-34	—	69
Gary Player	33-37	—	70
Andy North	35-35	—	70
Bobby Wadkins	36-34	—	70
Bruce Vaughan	36-34	—	70
Mark Wiebe	37-33	—	70
Denis Watson	35-35	—	70
Curtis Strange	37-34	—	71
Loren Roberts	36-35	—	71
Craig Stadler	36-36	—	72
Lonnie Nielsen	35-37	—	72
Eduardo Romero	35-38	—	73
Keith Fergus	36-39	—	75
Pete Oakley	43-36	—	79