Golf: Langer takes share of lead in Hong Kong

Bernhard Langer kept up his chances of a confidence-boosting win in the Alfred Dunhill Masters in Hong Kong yesterday with a four-under-par 67 to take a joint share of the lead. Langer, who has now gone 13 months without a victory and failed to win a European Tour event for the first time in 17 years, is one of four leaders at the halfway stage on 133.

The German is joined by New Zealand's Paul Devenport, Taiwan's Hsieh Yu-shu and Park No-seok, of South Korea.

"Every win is nice although victory here will not make up for missing out in Europe this year," Langer said. "But it would certainly be good to win to end the season on a positive note and get my confidence back."

Europe's No 1, Colin Montgomerie, still suffering from the effects of jet-lag, returned his second successive 69 to lie five behind the leaders, while Ernie Els, fresh from winning his third successive World Match Play title, added a 69 to his first-round 71.

Laura Davies was four shots off the lead after the first round of the Toray Japan Queens Cup in Azuma yesterday. Davies, who is chasing her ninth win of the year and her second in Japan, fired a one-under-par 71.

The three-day tournament for a top prize of $112,500 (pounds 75,000) will end the race for the 30 places in the Tour Championship, the season-ending event in Las Vegas from 21-24 November. Karrie Webb, of Australia, tops the list with 847,903pts, followed by Davies with 827,483.