World Cup:The competitive juices still flow, as Bernhard Langer showed yesterday.

In a glimpse back to how it once was on tour, the German - confounding the theory that World Cup partnerships forged down the years are more important than newly formed ones - teamed up with his compatriot Marcel Siem, having only ever played together for the first time in the previous day's practice, to get into the thick of the action, shooting an opening round 65.

Surprised? "Nothing surprises me in this game," replied Langer, who will be eligible for the seniors circuit next August when he turns 50. When reminded of his age, Langer laughed. "The golf ball doesn't know how old I am, so that's a good thing," he responded.

Yesterday was, indeed, a day when Langer turned back the clock. It is almost a decade since he last played in the World Cup and, this time, he returned to play with Siem, a player almost half his age and with only a fraction of his experience. Where Langer has won 46 tournaments on the European Tour and some 66 events in all worldwide, Siem's only tour success came in the Dunhill Links two years ago.

At one point in the round yesterday, Langer even took it on himself to impart some coaching to his young compatriot. Noticing that Siem had the dreaded reverse pivot, unsure whether the ball would be hooked or pushed, Langer pointed out the error of his ways. "I know my body, and once Bernhard told me my mistake, I knew how to handle it and I started hitting the ball better."

Langer, a winner of the World Cup in partnership with Torsten Giedeon in 1990, something of a surprise back then, contributed four birdies yesterday and has his 16-year-old son Stefan, a plus-one handicapper, caddying for him.

"He knows what to do and what not to do," said Langer of his teenage son. "I didn't really have to tell him a whole lot. He does very well, rakes the bunkers. I watched him today. I was in one bunker and he took extra care to make it real smooth . . . he really did a great job there. I even asked him to look at some of the putts, because we play these sort of greens in Florida, Bermuda grass greens, very grainy, and he's pretty decent at reading greens."

So, does a future career as a professional beckon for the younger Langer? "He's got a long way ahead of him, two and a half years of high school and four years of college. And he needs to get a lot better if he wants to turn professional. I wouldn't let him turn pro right now." For now, Stefan's job is to be bagman for his father as Langer attempts to win the World Cup some 16 years after his only win in the tournament. This time, he has Siem as his helper. And, for Siem, the experience of playing with Langer is one that he wants to cherish.

Of playing a practice round with Langer on Wednesday, Siem yesterday remarked: "To be honest, Wednesday evening was the most exciting Wednesday I have ever had in my life. I felt pressure, but I think it is getting better and better."

To which Langer turned around and patted the younger German on the shoulder. "There's no pressure," he said, "we're just here for fun."

Pressure or not, the Germans have managed to put themselves into a position to challenge. Only time will tell if it will last the distance.