NAPLES, Fla. — Bernhard Langer shot a 2-under 70 to take a three-shot lead after the second round of the Champions Tour’s ACE Group Classic on Saturday.
Langer, who had a 10-under 62 in the first round, picked up where he left off with a birdie on his first hole. He made 11 straight pars after that, birdied No. 13, and had a par on the last five holes in windy conditions. He is at 12-under 132.
“(I) actually played some good golf today, had several chances, a little bit unlucky with some of my putts,” Langer said. “There’s a bunch of them that just went over the edges and none of them dropped. Very happy that I didn’t make a bogey in these tough conditions.”
Taiwan’s Chien Soon Lu and Tom Pernice Jr., who was runner-up last week in Boca Raton, Fla., are tied for second at 9-under 135.
“I’m going to have to play a good round,” Pernice said. “Bernhard’s playing awfully well, regardless whether it’s calm or whether it’s windy.”
Lu double bogeyed the first hole, then birdied seven of the next 10. He bogeyed No. 18. Pernice had four birdies and a bogey. He birdied two of his last six holes.
The wind picked up just before the leaders teed off and only got stronger as the day went on, gusting to 30 mph. The wind is forecast to be strong again Sunday.
“Well, just about on most of the shots you had to … make adjustments, allowances for either into the wind or crosswind or downwind, either way,” Langer said.
The 55-year-old Langer won this event in 2011 and was runner-up last year.
Mark O’Meara was next at 8 under. Mark Wiebe, Jay Don Blake and John Huston are another stroke back.
Bob Tway, who came into the day tied for third place, dropped on the leaderboard after being assessed a two-stroke penalty when his ball moved after he addressed it on No. 16
Tway had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14. He double bogeyed No. 17, then was told after the round about the penalty on the 16th that turned a bogey into a triple bogey.
Tway shot a 79, and was at even par through two rounds.
Tour rules official Brian Claar said Tway saw the ball move, but “didn’t think he did anything to cause it.”
“There is nothing to question about Bob Tway’s character,” Claar added.
Rocco Mediate, who won in his Champions Tour debut last week, tied for the best round of the day with a 5-under 67, and is tied for 11th with Steve Elkington and John Cook, who won the season-opening event in Hawaii.
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