Bernhard Langer records a slow start at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Bernhard Langer birdied the last two holes on day one of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and tied for the 14th position, on Thursday, November 1, 2012.
Langer, the current leader of the Charles Schwab Cup, is hopeful to finish the season on a high note by winning the $1 million annuity that comes with the top position in the standings.
The German star is leading by 211 points with $2,023,296 prize money. Tom Lehman, who shared the 11th position after posting a two-under par 68, is ranked second in the money list.
Langer got off to a slow start at the Desert Mountain Club (Cochise) in Scottsdale. He parred each of the first 12 holes prior to conceding a bogey on the 13th hole.
He then gained a shot on the 15th hole, but lost that by suffering another bogey of the day on the very next hole that he played. Thereafter, he birdied each of the next two holes to finish the day on a high note.
"I'm very happy with my finish," Langer said.
Langer now plans to take home the Charles Schwab Cup by retaining the top spot through a victory this week.
According to him, a victory this week is the best option to hold on to the top spot in the standings. Otherwise, he will have to depend on other players’ final positions in the tournament.
The winner of the event will be awarded with 880 points, while the others will get one point for each $500 they will earn in the tournament.
"Obviously, in the back of your head, there is always, `What does everyone else do?'" Langer said. "But I can't control any of the other players".
In the meantime, Jay Don Blake started off his title defence in style. He fired a six-under par 64 to take the sole lead in Arizona.
Talking to the reporters, he stated that he was not able to control his distances off the tee, because of the heat and humidity on the venue course.
"I drove it really well and the balls were going so far out there," Blake said. "The hard part right now for me to figure out is what iron shot, whether I need to hit a hard 8 or an easy 7. ... I feel like I'm making some bad swings on some of the irons
because I'm a little leery of the distance it is going”.
Despite poor control over his tee shots, he was able to post an impressive score on the leaderboard, thanks chiefly to his stunning putting technique.
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