THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TURNBERRY — Gary Hallberg tamed the stiff morning breeze to fire a second round 7-under par 63 at the Senior British Open on Friday and then sat back to watch as the wind got up throughout the afternoon and most of the overnight leaders slipped down the leaderboard.
Hallberg sits on 6 under 134 at the halfway stage, three ahead of overnight leader Bernhard Langer and fellow American Tom Lehman.
"I think Gary’s 63 is the round of the year. Shooting 7 under today is like 10 or 11 under on a decent day. That’s how good it was and I take my hat off to him," Langer said.
The German added a second-round 73 to his opening 64, hitting trouble on the way home at the 13th where he crashed to a triple bogey seven and the long 17th, where he dropped another shot.
Out in the third group of the morning, Hallberg dropped his only shot at the second hole but from there mastered the conditions with eight birdies. He got three on the run from the fifth, to be out in 33, and again at 10, 11, 13, 14 and the 17th to be back in 30.
"It was one of the greatest days I’ve had in many years, it was just a pleasure," said Hallberg. "I played aggressively and had some great putts go in, but I started to choke a bit near the end and left putts at 15, 16 and 18 short."
Langer showed his class when, in the worst of the afternoon weather, he birdied his first two holes to move to 8 under, but he dropped shots at the fifth and seventh to be out in level par 35. He then birdied the tenth to take the lead again on 7 under, only to drop four more strokes to be back in 38.
"The conditions were extremely tough," said Langer. "I had a lost ball and an unplayable ball on the back side. I started with two birdies and made some wonderful putts. I played okay for the most part but then hit a couple of bad shots coming home and paid the price.
"It wasn’t my best but I have to take it and move on."
Like Langer, Lehman played when the wind was at its strongest and was delighted with his 71, having not been particularly pleased with his 66 on the opening day.
"I don’t think you’re ever happy in golf when you shoot the worst score you can possibly shoot, which was yesterday," said Lehman. "But you’re always pleased when you shoot the best score you can possibly shoot, which was today."
Lehman managed just one birdie on the 17th and dropped shots on the 11th and 14th to finish on 3 under 137.
"When I saw Gary’s score going on the board I thought, ‘Wow! Did he play the par three course across the road?’ He’s a bit of a character so nothing surprises me what he might shoot."
Fred Couples’ 68 was one of only two sub-par rounds during the day. He was out in 33 with birdies at the fifth and seventh, dropped a stroke at the 15th, birdied 16 and 17 before dropping another stroke at the last.
He sits on level par alongside fellow American Michael Allen, Ireland’s Mark McNulty, whose 75 was ten shots worse than his opening effort, and Australian Peter Fowler, who added a 72 to his opening 68.
Four players are sharing fourth place on 1 under — Americans Jay Don Blake and Dick Mast, South African Peter Senior and Australian David Frost.
"Every shot was a grind," said Blake. "You don’t really have any shots that are downwind, it’s always across. But I felt I played really solid. Hit a lot of good shots."
With the cut coming at 7 over, notable casualties at the halfway stage include Bob Tway, Brad Faxon, Steve Jones, Craig Stadler, Chip Beck, Joe Daley and Australian Greg Norman.