Langham Leads Doral Assault

Franklin Langham felt the still, warm air, saw the ridiculously low scores and realized that Friday was no time to play it safe in the Doral-Ryder Open at Miami.

On a day when the Blue Monster was besieged by birdies and records, Langham added his name to the books with a nine-under-par 63 that gave him a three-stroke lead and the lowest 36-hole score in the 39-year history of the tournament.

“So many guys are shooting so low. You have to take it with a grain of salt,” said Langham, 31, looking for his first win. “You’ve got to keep making birdies.”

A 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole put Langham at 15-under 129, shattering the 36-hole Doral record of 133 set by Paul Azinger and Greg Norman in 1993. It also was the lowest halfway score on tour since David Frost was at 126 in the St. Jude Classic last year.

Stephen Ames, who almost withdrew when his 3-year-old son was hospitalized because of pneumonia Wednesday, broke the Blue Monster record with a bogey-free 61 that left him tied for second with Shigeki Maruyama (65), Jim Furyk (67) and Vijay Singh (67).

Edward Fryatt, in danger of missing the cut, tied a PGA Tour record with eight consecutive birdies in his round of 10-under 62, which put him at 137.

The cut was at three-under 141, the lowest ever at Doral. Among those hanging around for the weekend is Erik Compton, the 20-year-old redshirt freshman at Georgia and the first heart-transplant recipient to compete on tour.

Lurking at 135 are David Duval, who shot a 64, and Ernie Els, who had a 68 despite a bogey on the 18th hole.

Ames broke the Doral mark of 62--accomplished twice by Norman and last done by Furyk in the second round of 1998.

“Imagine shooting 67 here and feeling like you got left behind,” Ames said. Of the 140 players in the field, 103 broke par.

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Playing with the LPGA Tour’s hottest player, Annika Sorenstam turned in her second consecutive bogey-free round in the Takefuji Classic, shooting a 68 at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, to reach the 36-hole mark at eight-under 136.

That’s one stroke ahead of first-round leader Janice Moodie, who checked in with a 70.

Karrie Webb, who has won all three tournaments she has played this year, was hanging around too. She completed an up-and-down round of 70 for a six-under 138 total. But she had to roll in an 18-foot putt and a 25-foot chip on the final two holes at Kona Country Club.