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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, February 14, 2009

Golf: Langer's collapse lifts Morgan, Jenkins in Allianz Championship

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Gil Morgan shot a flawless 7-under 65 today and finished tied with Tom Jenkins after two rounds of the Allianz Championship, benefiting greatly from a late collapse by Bernhard Langer.

Jenkins shot 67 for the second straight day, matching Morgan at 10 under through 36 holes. Mike Goodes (68) and Jerry Pate (71) were one shot off the lead, while Dan Forsman (65), Mark James (69), Larry Mize (69) and Fulton Allem (70) all were at 8 under.

But perhaps the biggest story was Langer, who simply fell apart over the last four holes — with two bogeys and a double-bogey knocking him from the lead and creating a logjam of a leaderboard.

"I should be three ahead," said Langer, who shot 73 on Saturday, nine strokes off the sizzling 64 he opened with on The Old Course at Broken Sound. "And I'm three behind."

Langer was rolling through 14 holes, not making any bogeys and looking very comfortable in the lead, playing in his adopted South Florida hometown.

He had two key putts lip out down the stretch, and that, combined with some other missed birdie opportunities throughout the day, soured Langer's mood.

"I should have walked away with it, really," he said.

Not that Morgan minded, of course.

When he tapped in for a birdie on the 18th, Morgan was one shot behind Langer and walked off the course fully convinced he'd have some chasing to do on Sunday.

"You've got to go out there and catch them," Morgan said. "They're not going to come back to you."

He was wrong. Over the next hour, Langer came back to Morgan and then some.

Morgan's was the round of the day, matched by Forsman and Jay Haas, who was runner-up at the Allianz two years ago.