By ,
Published January 08, 2015
Newport Beach, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Bernhard Langer shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday and remained two strokes clear of the field after two rounds of the Toshiba Classic.
Langer, the 2008 champion, ended 36 holes at 12-under-par 129. He missed the events' 36-hole scoring record by one stroke.
Kenny Perry carded a 6-under 65 and moved into a share of second at minus-11. Chien Soon Lu matched Langer's 66 and his eagle on 18 left him tied with Perry for second at Newport Beach Country Club.
Jeff Hart and 2010 winner Fred Couples both posted 67s in round two. They were joined in fourth place at 10-under 132 by Esteban Toledo (65) and Scott Dunlap (64).
Peter Senior matched the low round of the day with his 8-under 63. That helped Senior jump into a share of eighth at minus-9. He stands alongside Steve Pate (65), Kirk Triplett (67) and Michael Allen (67).
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson also fired a 63 to move into a tie for 12th at 8-under 134.
Langer had an up and down front nine as he wrapped birdies at one and three around a bogey on the second. He birdied the fifth, but gave that shot right back as he bogeyed the sixth.
The 19-time winner on the Champions Tour parred six consecutive holes from the seventh. He ended that string with a birdie on the par-3 13th.
Langer followed with birdies on 14 and 15 to move to 12-under, where he had broken free from a logjam atop the leaderboard and led by two. He drained a 6- footer for birdie at 17 to get to minus-13, but with a chance to expand his lead, 3-putted for par of the par-5 18th.
"Today, I hit a few bad shots and missed a bunch of greens and that was the difference. I missed about five greens today and made two bogeys, which was disappointing, but still made a bunch of birdies," Langer stated. "The 3-putt on the last didn't help either, otherwise it was still a good solid round. There was a lot of good in there, just a couple of bogeys that hurt."
Perry started quickly as he birdied the first and third. He tripped to a bogey on the sixth, then parred four straight from the seventh.
The two-time major winner in 2013 drained three straight birdies from the 11th to move within two of Langer. After four pars in a row, Perry poured in an eagle effort on No. 18 to jump into a share of second place.
"It was a nice round. I've only made one bogey I think in two days, been very steady. I've been driving the ball terrific, kind of set up this whole golf course, been able to put myself in some situations where I can actually attack the golf course a little bit and try to make some birdies," Perry said.
Lu matched Perry's start with birdies on one and three. Lu traded a birdie for a bogey from the seventh as he made the turn at minus-8.
Around the turn, Lu stumbled to a bogey on the par-4 12th. He bounced back with birdies at 14 and 15. He drained a tough left-to-right breaking eagle putt at the 18th to jump into second place.
NOTES: Watson (by one stroke) and Hale Irwin (by two strokes) both beat their age on Saturday ... Defending champion David Frost carded a 4-under 67 and moved into a share of 44th at 3-under 139.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/langer-remains-2-clear-at-toshiba-classic