YOU THINK you've seen everything there is to see in golf; then, an old master reminds you that genius is ageless, writes PHILIP REIDreports  from Sawgrass.

Yesterday, as a swirling wind that gusted up to 35mph provided as tough an examination as The Players championship has experienced, Bernhard Langer conquered the devilishly tough layout to put down a claim for a title that eluded him throughout an honour-laden career.

This 35th staging of this wannabe major is contriving to confound. In the absence of world number one Tiger Woods, recuperating from knee surgery and unlikely to reappear on tour until next month's US Open, it was felt the timing was perfect for a young gun to emerge from the shadows.

And, sure, Sergio Garcia - El Nino himself, once touted as a genuine rival to Woods' dominance - has reaffirmed his right to be mentioned in the same breath, while, of the new up-and-comers, Anthony Kim, who looks like a hotshot, and Kevin Stadler, who doesn't, also manoeuvred into contention heading into the weekend when the real business is conducted.

Yet, it was a succession of old-timers who confounded. Kenny Perry . . . Fred Couples . . . Paul Goydos . . . but, especially, Langer.

The 50-year-old German - complaining of "knee, back and shoulder" pains, but defying them - produced the best round of the day, a 67, that moved him to 139, five under, and left him one shot adrift of Perry at the mid-point.

Perry, anxious to make the Ryder Cup team in his native Kentucky, felt he used his experience well on the way to a 70 for 138, which gave him the outright lead, a shot clear of Langer, Garcia and Kim.

"I knew where to hit it, where to miss it . . . you've really got to pick a club and make sure you don't short side yourself."

Garcia finished with a 73, to be in that three-way tie for second.

Yesterday was, as Perry attested, "a test of survival" for players, and many failed the exam. Among those to miss the cut were the two major champions in the field, British Open winner Pádraig Harrington and US Open champion Angel Cabrera, while Justin Rose, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood were other casualties.

Harrington's round imploded on his back nine. Having started on the 10th, he was two under for his day's work - and seemingly coasting - after eight holes. However, he suffered a hat-trick of bogeys from the 17th, where he three-putted.

And although he birdied the second (where he had a 10-foot eagle putt), the Dubliner went into freefall and bogeyed six of the next seven holes to sign for a 78, leaving him on 150, three shots off the cut line.

"It was the kind of day where you could shoot a big number in a hurry," said leader Perry. "I was very patient, drove the ball good again today. The secret to my round? I putted great. I made a lot of nice four- to eight-footers for par all day. You know, you're at the mercy of the wind. It was hard to ever feel comfortable on any tee shot."

For Garcia, it was a case of being bitten by the infamous 17th as he relinquished a lead he had stubbornly defended for most of the day. Garcia became the hole's latest victim, suffering a double-bogey five after his over-hit tee-shot hesitated about staying on the back edge of the green before running down the pathway (the only route onto the island green), from where he had no shot to the flag.

Langer, meanwhile, was on fire on the front nine which he covered in a mere 31 shots. Having holed a 10-footer for eagle on the second, he recorded further birdies on the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth, before dropping a shot - his first of the day - on the long ninth. He covered the back nine in 36 - two birdies, two bogeys - to make his leap through the field.

The highpoint came on the 17th, where, having narrowly avoided a watery grave with his tee-shot and finding the front of the green, he used his broomhandle putter like a magic wand to sink a 60-footer for birdie.

Couples, another to defy age and the wind, put forward the belief that "no one knows what they're going to shoot (in the conditions). I mean, 72 feels like a 68 and 80 feels like 100. It just kind of beats you up."

In defying the windy conditions, and thankful that the greens were double-watered so that much of the firmness and fire was taken away, 22-year-old Kim - who made his breakthrough win on tour in capturing the Wachovia championship last week - manoeuvred his way into a challenging position heading into the weekend.

In firing a second 70 for 140, four under, Kim - like Woods of Asian heritage, his parents being from Korea - moved into contention after what he described as his "best ball-striking round that I've had in the last six tournament days I've played".

Given the manner in which he destroyed the field in the Wachovia, that was saying something.

On a day when temperatures rose into the high-80s Fahrenheit, and the wind accentuated the problem of club selection and execution, Kim again demonstrated his is a rich talent.

If there was any weakness, it was with his putter. Yet, he showed his new maturity when remarking, "the putter was a bit cold . . . hopefully I can get some to fall over the weekend."

Langer, too, will hope that he can defy the passage of time and emulate Funk's win here three years ago.

It promises to be an interesting weekend, that's for sure.