Bernhard Langer

For video of the second round, click here. For a photo gallery, click here. NEWPORT BEACH — Place, roll. Place, roll. Place, roll. It was the last hole of the day, and front-runner Bernhard Langer was seemingly taking forever. He’d hit his tee shot into the gallery, to the far right of the green, and had taken two drops. He tried to place the ball, but it rolled ever so slightly, until finally, he just got some grass behind it to make it stay. “It just kept moving,” Langer said.

NEWPORT BEACH — Bernhard Langer certainly has someone he totally trusts in his corner as he begins his quest to become the first repeat winner at the Toshiba Classic today at Newport Beach Country Club. Langer’s son, Stefan, will be his caddy. He has been for the past two tournaments Langer has played when he finished third and tied for third. Langer opened 2009 with a victory at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship with Terry Holt as his caddy. But then Langer brought in Stefan, 18, who will be his father’s caddy through May and then he’ll go off to college, Langer said.

NEWPORT BEACH — Bernhard Langer has seen some of his peers go from the Champions Tour to the PGA Tour and achieve success. But the 53-year-old does not want to follow suit because he thinks "bouncing back and forth doesn't do a whole lot. " The two-time Masters champion (1985, 1993) also enjoys the Champions Tour for golfers 50 and older. Who could blame him? He has been ruling the tour for the last three years. Last year, Langer, a native of Germany, became the first player on the Champions Tour to win the Jack Nicklaus Trophy (player of the year)

Tom Kite doesn't mince words. He keeps reality in focus. We are fallen people living in a fallen world. Adversity will come, along with triumph. The key, according to Kite, is not straying too far in the wrong direction. In golf, that could refer to a cut instead of a slice. Kite's career tells the story of consistency. In a little more than four years, Kite has made the cut in all but one of the 106 Champions Tour events he has entered. He has the best current streak of years (11)

NEWPORT BEACH — It was almost as if mother nature knew Bernhard Langer and Jay Haas were going to need the extra 45 minutes it took to determine a winner in the 2008 Toshiba Classic. Daylight savings time came in handy for the seven-hole playoff that lasted until Langer sunk a birdie putt four inches from the hole on the 18th to win the title and the $255,000 purse Sunday. It was his second victory since joining the Champions Tour. Haas was in position to push it to an eighth hole after landing a chip shot from the back bunker.

NEWPORT BEACH - As if John Cook needed more of an advantage at the Toshiba Classic this week. The 11-time PGA Tour winner, who grabbed his ninth victory on the Champions Tour in January, doesn't totally have an edge on the Newport Beach Country Club golf course. But it's safe to say Cook is in his comfort zone. He owns a home in nearby Corona del Mar and is just "five minutes," away from NBCC. Cook calls it a bonus, as he looks to add to his hot start on the Champions Tour this year.

It’s been written and warned to many that money is the root of all evil. But not in Bernhard Langer’s life. The Hall of Fame golfer’s success can be traced back to the almighty dollar, or rather Deutsche Mark. Growing up in Germany, Langer usually tried his best to gain some what he called, “pocket money.” Whatever he could earn would help, he thought, as his mother and father worked hard to support the family. Dad worked as a bricklayer and mom was almost always busy as a waitress at a nearby restaurant.

 Isao Aoki  Andy Bean  Chip Beck  Jim Colbert  John Cook  Ben Crenshaw  Jim Dent  Dale Douglass  Allen Doyle  R. W. Eaks  David Edwards  David Eger  Dave Eichelberger  Keith Fergus  Vicente Fernandez  Bruce Fleisher  Raymond Floyd  Fred Funk  Bob Gilder  Wayne Grady  Hubert Green  Jay Haas  Paul Hahn  John Harris  Morris Hatalsky  Scott Hoch  Greg Hopkins  Hale Irwin  John Jacobs  Peter Jacobsen  Tom Jenkins  Mark Johnson  Gene Jones  Tom Kite  Bernhard Langer  Wayne Levi  Bruce Lietzke  Sandy Lyle  Graham Marsh  Gary McCord  Mike McCullough  Mark McNulty  Gil Morgan  Larry Nelson  Lonnie Nielsen  Mark O’Meara  Joe Ozaki  Jerry Pate  Gary Player  Don Pooley  Tom Purtzer  Dana Quigley  Loren Roberts  Jay Sigel  Scott Simpson  Jeff Sluman  Tim Simpson  Des Smyth  Craig Stadler  Dave Stockton  Curtis Strange  Ron Streck  Bruce Summerhays  Leonard...

Isao Aoki Tommy Armour III Paul Azinger Andy Bean Ronnie Black Phil Blackmar Olin Browne Russ Cochran Jim Colbert John Cook Fred Couples Ben Crenshaw Allen Doyle David Eger Keith Fergus Bruce Fleisher Dan Forsman David Frost Fred Funk Bob Gilder Mike Goodes Jay Haas Gary Hallberg Paul Hahn John Harris Steve Haskins ...

(PARTIAL) 1 Bernhard Langer -6 T2 Jim Colbert -5 T2 Bob Gilder-5 T2 Eduardo Romero -5 T5 Mark O’Meara -4 T5 Denis Watson -4 T7 Tom Watson -3 T7 Andy Bean -3 T7 Joey Sindelar -3 T7 Tim Simpson -3 T7 Gene Jones -3 T12 Bobby Wadkins -2 T12 John Cook -2 T12 Jim Thorpe -2 T12 Bruce Vaughan-2 T12 Fred Funk -2 T12 Allen Doyle -2 T12 Loren Roberts -2 ...