Senior British Open 2017: Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman Among Leaders After Friday

Bernhard Langer and Tom Lehman are two of five players who share the lead at the midway point of the British Senior Open, as inclement weather engulfed Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Bridgend, Wales on Friday. 

Former Ryder Cup captains Langer and Lehman, as well as Steve Flesch, Billy Mayfair and Mauricio Molina, are sat on one-over par at the end of player. Only one player in the field, Santiago Luna, was under par for his round on Day 2.

It means we’re set for a fascinating weekend in Wales, as some of the sharpest veterans in the sport tackle a true test of their quality. Below is a look at the top of leaderboard at the midpoint of the competition and a recap of how the action played out on Friday.

Leaderboard

(+1) Bernhard Langer (74), Steve Flesch (71), Billy Mayfair (72), Mauricio Molina (73), Tom Lehman (72)

(+2) Clarke Dennis (72)

(+4) Peter Lonard (75), Mike Goodes (72), David McKenzie (73)

For the full leaderboard visit the European Tour website.

Wind and Rain Batter Royal Porthcawl

The European Senior Tour Twitter feed provided a selection of highlights from the second day’s play:

The course proved to be challenging for plenty of players in the field on Thursday. But Friday was another level entirely.

Winds were constantly blowing shots off course and the rain made it perilously difficult to maintain concentration. As noted by BBC Wales Sport, home player Mark Mouland, who is seven-over for the championship, said: "That’s the worst weather I’ve ever played in."

Things could have been worse for Mouland, though. As noted by the Golf Channel, for a couple of players—Mike Heinen and Stephen Creed—the conditions proved to be devilishly difficult:

Unsurprisingly, scoring proved to be tough for the competitors and even for Langer, who led by one shot at the start of the day. Back-to-back bogeys at the first two holes pushed him out to level par, although he did limit the damage well in the remaining 16 holes and preserve a share of the lead.

Phil Inglis/Getty Images

The troubles of the leader meant that anyone shooting close to par on the day would be in contention come Saturday and Sunday, though. Lehman did exactly that with a composed one-over par round, while Flesch posted an extremely commendable level-par score of 71.

As relayed by sports journalist James Pontin, despite a brilliant round, Flesch was looking forward to getting away from the wild conditions out on the course:

Rounds of 72 and 73 from Mayfair and Molina, respectively, meant they finished up alongside the likes of Lehman and Langer too. However, as we can see below, the standout performance from Porthcawl on Friday came from Luna, who is four shots back on five-over par:

The field was full of other noticeable names. Miguel Angel Jimenez mastered the conditions better than most and was able to stay in contention with a round of 73 on Friday. Colin Montgomerie, meanwhile, slipped back down the leaderboard with a five-over par round of 76.

After two punishing days on course, the weather is forecast to improve somewhat on Saturday, with the worst of the conditions set to come later in the day. Those who made the cut will hope their battling displays will be rewarded with plenty of birdie chances.