Langer impressing in own event

Bernhard Langer moved into contention for his 12th European Tour title on home soil in the Linde German Masters, and could pocket his own money into the bargain.

The veteran German, who co-promotes and stages the tournament with brother Erwin and has already won it four times, edged to the top of a crowded leaderboard in the second round in Cologne.

Starting the day one shot off the lead after an opening 67, Langer birdied the 11th – his second hole – and bogeyed the 12th before a hat-trick of birdies took him into a share of the lead with tournament favourite Retief Goosen.

Back-to-back bogeys then seemed to have halted the 48-year-old’s charge but a birdie on the 18th took him out in 34, two under for the day and seven under for the £2.2m (€3.25m) event.

Another dropped shot on the first briefly dropped Langer back into an 11-way tie for the lead, but the former Ryder Cup captain then eagled the par-five third to move back into the outright lead.

Langer last won the title in 2001, the first prize of £278,000 (€411,000) the largest of his lengthy career.

A total of 18 players were within two shots of the lead, however, Goosen recovering from three bogeys in the space of four holes to birdie the fifth to lie seven under.

Also seven under were England’s David Lynn and Zimbabwe’s Marc Cayeux, who was making the most of his late call-up into the field when Italy’s Emanuele Canonica was forced out by a neck injury.

England’s David Howell was among the large group on six under, the Swindon golfer firing four birdies and an eagle in his first 12 holes today.

Defending champion Padraig Harrington was battling to simply make the halfway cut, the Irishman four under for his round but only one under overall after an opening 75.

Langer was overtaken at the top of the leaderboard when Cayeux also eagled the third to move to nine under.

Goosen had only managed a par on that hole after driving into a bush and taking a penalty drop, the South African needing a superb fourth shot to within two feet of the hole to save par.

But birdies on the fifth and sixth took him to eight under and within a shot of the lead once more.