2015 SAS Championship: Course knowledge helps Langer to take early lead

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

CARY, N.C. – Bernhard Langer posted a 7-under-par 65 to open up a two-stroke margin over the field at the 2015 SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club on Friday.

Langer’s bogey-free round, only one of five scored on the day, gave him the lead over Gene Sauers, Scott Dunlap and John Riegger after the opening round of play.

Playing alongside current Charles Schwab Cup points co-leaders Colin Montgomerie (T17 – 70) and Jeff Maggert (45 – 73), Langer took advantage of a very receptive 7,240-yard layout.

“Got off to a nice start with two birdies right away,” Langer said.

“Played some solid golf, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, gave myself some opportunities. Never really struggled for par, it seemed like, at least what I remember. It was stressless golf in a sense where I just kept the ball in play and took my chances and made the odd putt here and there.”

Knowing the course played to his advantage, as he won the tournament in 2012, and has finished in the top 10 in four of his last five starts here.

While Langer posted his 17th consecutive sub-par round, the best current streak on the Champions Tour, Dunlap talked about how pleased he was with his performance and playing Prestonwood for the first time.

“It’s just your typical beautiful Carolina course,” Dunlap said after finishing with birdies on 17 and 18.

“You’ve got great golf drain up here. It’s just rolling enough without being too hilly. Beautiful trees this time of year. The Bermuda, it had a lot of rain but it’s dried out nicely, so this is probably the condition you could expect the golf course in the primest shape of the year in October after it’s not quite so hot.”

With much wetter conditions expected throughout the day on Saturday, Langer will have to remain sharp as Dunlap, Sauers, Riegger and the rest of the field will look to make a move towards the top of the leaderboard.

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