BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Tom Watson shot a 3-under 68 on Friday for a share of the lead in the Senior PGA Championship with fellow Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie and three other players.
The 64-year-old Watson, playing alongside Langer and Montgomerie, had five birdies and a double bogey – on the par-4 12th – to reach 4-under 138 after two rounds at Harbor Shores.
Langer also had a 68, and Montgomerie shot 69 to join Watson, Bart Bryant, Steen Tinning and Kiyoshi Murota atop the leaderboard. Bryant shot 67, Tinning 66, and Murota 65.
Murota, from Japan, had the best round of the day, chipping in for eagles on the par-5 fifth and ninth.
Bryant bogeyed the 18th hole to drop into the tie for the lead.
Tinning, from Denmark, birdied No. 17 in his bogey-free round.
Steve Pate (67) was a stroke back along with Stephen Ames (68), Russ Cochran (69), Mark Brooks (71) and Dan Forsman (73). The group at 2 under included first-round leader Joe Durant (75), Jay Haas (71), Scott Simpson (69) and Duffy Waldorf (70).
Watson, Langer and Montgomerie created buzz early in the day with their names atop the leaderboard.
Watson had a 3-under 33 on the front nine, but double-bogeyed the 12th with a stubbed chip and three putts. Trying to win for the first time since the 2011 Senior PGA, he’s coming off a sixth-place tie last week in the Regions Tradition in Alabama.
Langer, a two-time winner this season and the leading money winner on the Champions Tour five of the last six years, birdied the first two holes.
Montgomerie, playing in his first Senior PGA and seeking his first Champions Tour victory, took advantage of a friendly forward tee position and made an eagle on the par-5 15th. He hit his 8-iron approach from 173 yards to 10 feet.