back nine

While the initial rounds were played at a refreshing two-ball pace, the last lap was conducted in stodgy threesomes with half the field playing the back nine first.

But defender Maxime Chanot gave the lead back nine minutes later, sticking his right foot in front of an Obed Vargas cross aimed at no one in particular and deflecting it into his own goal to even the score with a half hour left in regulation.

Langer, a two-time Masters winner, had a five-shot lead heading into the back nine but back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th saw his lead diminish.

She missed three short birdie putts on the back nine.

“I’m on the back nine of my tennis career,” he says after a recent practice session.