Scott

Langley

The lefty started his afternoon on the 10th tee and battled through the rain at first. That paved the way for prime scoring conditions and Langley took full advantage on his way into the clubhouse. Sitting at even par thru 12 holes, he proceeded to birdie five of the last six to soar up the board. Four of those final five birdies were knocked home from outside 11 feet. He beat the field average by 4.3 strokes today and 3.2 of those came with the putter. It all started off the tee, though, as he piped all 14 fairways at TPC River Highlands. Entering the week with 10 straight stroke-play finishes of T50 or worse, this was a much-needed fast start for the Fighting Illini alum.

There’s only two players (of 60) left to complete their respective rounds. On-course leader Phil Mickelson and 54-hole leader Paul Casey. Mickelson is 6-under thru 16 holes, 18-under total, three clear of Casey, who has a 3'2" par putt at the 16th when play resumes on Monday morning at 8:00 am local time. Playing out of the fifth-to-last group, Langley hit 10 (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, gaining 2.342 strokes tee-to-green but losing 0.210 on-the-green. He carded five, first-nine birdies at 1, 2, 6, 8 and 9, but came home in birdie-less 2-over, squaring 12 and 15 (3-putt). For the week, the 29-year-old carded rounds of 64-69-73-69 (MP-SH-PB-PB) and totaled one eagle and 18 birdies versus eight bogeys. This was his seventh AT&T, fifth cash and first top 60. He improves to 6-for-9 on the season with three top 25s and one top 10, his first since a career-tying-best 3rd at the 2014 Valspar.

With lift, clean and place in effect, the 29-year-old striped 12 (of 14) fairways, currently No. 1 in Driving Accuracy thru 54 holes at 87.80 percent (36/41). After that, he conjured 10 greens in regulation, losing 1.785 strokes on approach but gaining 0.801 around-the-green. Beginning off No. 10 tee, the Illinois alum mustered two birdie-3s at 12 and 7, outbalanced by three squares at 17, 3 and 9. He posted 1.800 putts per GIR and 0.463 SG: Putting en route to his fifth made cut at the AT&T in seven tries. Interestingly, all of his cashes are between 60th- and 70th-place with a pair of T62s (2013, 2017) his best.

With lift, clean and place in effect, the Illinois alum striped 12 (of 14) fairways and hit 15 greens in regulation. He squared a lone bogey-5 at 17, camouflaged by two birdie-4s at 11 and 1, adding a hole-out eagle-3 at 7. The 29-year-old posted 1.733 putts per GIR with 30 total putts. He’ll move over to Pebble Beach Golf Links for R3 after kicking off with a nine-birdie two-bogey 64 at Monterey Peninsula CC.

The smooth-swinging lefty did battle with Monterey Peninsula’s Short Course today and walked away victoriously with nine birdies on his card. Steady driving was the recipe for success as he missed just one (of 13) fairways en route to 14 greens in regulation. His short game wasn’t particularly sharp as he settled for bogeys on two of those four missed GIR. Luckily the scoring stick was fully dialed in, taking just 25 putts on his way around MPCC. This is Langley’s fourth career first-round lead or co-lead and first since the 2015 Greenbrier. Two of those came on coastal courses where distance isn’t a requirement (Waialae and Hilton Head) so this style of golf seems to fit him well.

The Illinois alum is back on the main stage after spending the last two seasons on the Web. This is his seventh start of 2018-19, fifth cash (fourth straight) with a best of T23 at the RSM two starts ago. The Scottsdale resident is making his fifth appearance in the desert with one prior paycheck, a T18 in 2014 three tries ago. He opened with 70 (NT) and bogey-free 65 on the Stadium Course, and is now blemish-free 14-under for his last 41 holes. Langley carded six birdies in R3 on nine (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation.

The Scottsdale, Arizona, resident missed the cut in his two prior appearances, including by 13 on last visit in 2016 (76-77). This is his fifth season on TOUR, first since 2016, and opened with a MC at the Safeway by one (71-71). The 29-year-old owns just two top 10s in 117 career events, both 3rd-place finishes, most recently at the 2014 Valspar. He began the season 9th on the WCT priority rankings after posting five top 10s in 22 starts, including a 3rd, 2nd and a win at the Panama Championship back in February, his first Web win in 59 career starts.

The 2010 NCAA champion advanced to the Pebble Beach as the only qualifier in St. Louis two years ago. He converted eight of his 12 birdies today in the second round. Samuel Osborne shot 3-under 71-70=141 to earn the second exemption available at the site. The final of three berths was decided in a playoff between amateurs Brooks Koepka and Andy Zhang. Koepka wound up outlasting the 14-year-old Zhang in sudden death. Notables that failed to advance include: 144--Derek Fathauer ... 149--Sam Saunders.

He was solid with the irons, landing 13 GIR despite only splitting five (of 14) fairways. For the week, he’s hit 66.7 percent of his GIR which is a large reason why he’s 6-over 216. Though 23 years young, he’s not a stranger to U.S. Opens. He finished T16 at Pebble Beach in 2010.

Langley was bumped to first alternate when Derek Ernst won the Wells Fargo Championship. The lefty remained on the outside looking in until Bob Estes withdrew just before his tee time at 2:21 p.m. ET. Langley went off the first tee with Tom Gillis and Harris English.