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The PGA Champions Tour is only for professional golfers ages 50 and older. Many events are usually dominated by the “young bucks” from ages 50 to 55. Those senior rookies are still capable of hitting some very long drives off the tee.
By age 60, most golfers on the senior golf tour have faded off the leader board.
Aging tends to bring shorter drives, increasingly unsteady putting, and more of the traditional aches and pains experienced with advancing age. This older age group on the senior circuit is generally happy with having the chance to compete on a regular basis with their former PGA Tour buddies.
There is one exception. He is quite stubborn and simply refuses to give up and fade away like most of his peers.
This 65-year old ageless wonder is Bernhard Langer. He just established a new record for wins on the PGA Champions Tour on Sunday. He snagged the US Senior Open trophy at the challenging SentryWorld golf course in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
If Langer wasn’t still a German citizen, he would have just become the first PGA Champions Tour winner on Medicare! He remains the only golfer age 65 or older to win a golf tournament on the senior tour.
Though Bernhard Langer hits the golf ball about 20 yards shorter than most of his fellow playing competitors, the Bavarian golfing machine finished last weekend’s US Senior Open ranked #1 in accuracy off the tee (49 out of 56 fairways for a nifty 87.5%) and #1 in greens hit in regulation.
A golfer on any professional tour who leads the field in those two important statistics will usually win the golf tournament.
In Sunday’s final round, Langer shot 4-under par in his first ten holes to open-up a 6-shot cushion on the back nine. The normally unflappable German then bogeyed his final three holes but still won by two strokes over Wisconsin’s home favorite Steve Stricker. Langer closed with a one-under par 70 in the final round and a 7-under par total as he took another trophy and $750,000 for his week.
This was Bernhard Langer’s 46th win on the senior circuit. The victory broke a tie with fellow World Golf Hall-of-Famer Hale Irwin at 45 wins apiece. Irwin’s final senior triumph came at the age of 61 back in 2007. The man in third place for most wins on the PGA Champions Tour is Lee Trevino. The man nicknamed “The Merry Mex” posted 29 more wins after reaching the age of 50.
Bernhard Langer now holds positions #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for being the oldest golfer to win on the PGA Champions Tour. The man in the #6 position is Fred Couples. Freddy had just turned 63 years of age as he captured the 2022 SAS Championship.
Sunday’s win at the US Senior Open also increased Bernhard Langer’s record for most major championship victories on the PGA Champions Tour. It was his twelfth.
Langer is also the only senior golfer to have won each of the tour’s five majors. He is three senior major championship wins ahead of second place Gary Player (nine) and four clear of Jack Nicklaus (who won eight),
If you think Bernhard Langer has been around golf for a long time, you are correct! Incredibly, this legend is now in his 50th year of playing professional golf.
Born in West Germany, Bernhard Langer learned the game at age 8 after finding a few used golf clubs. He found part-time work as a caddy at a local golf course and had the opportunity to practice there, too. By his early teens, he was quickly becoming a premier golfer in his native Germany.
Langer turned professional at age 15. He won the German National Open Championship at age 17. He would eventually win his home country’s national open an incredible 13 times.
After turning 18, Bernhard Langer performed a mandatory tour of military duty in the German Air Force for more than a year. During that time, he hurt his back so badly that an operation was recommended by several military doctors. Langer declined. Fortunately, his back improved with stretching, strengthening, and conditioning exercises.
Returning to golf at age 19, Bernhard Langer joined the European Tour. Without any outside funding to provide a financial cushion, he was known to sleep in his car at some of the golf tournaments until he earned enough money to afford a more comfortable lodging option.
That didn’t take him very long!
He won 42 times on the European Tour (now called the DP Tour). From 1980 through 1995, Bernhard Langer captured at least one golf tournament title in every year he played on the European Tour. His career victory total is second only to the late Seve Ballesteros (50 wins).
Best known for his intense focus, dedication to every aspect of his golf game, and devotion to personal conditioning, Bernhard Langer eventually came to America to compete on the PGA Tour.
He won two majors (the 1985 and 1993 Masters). For all success in Europe and overseas, Langer only added one more PGA Tour title at the 1985 Heritage Classic at Hilton Head Island.
Toward the end of his PGA and European Tour golfing career, Bernhard Langer suffered through something which has tortured a number of us golfers at some point.
The dreaded putting “yips” seriously afflicted Langer for several years. It is an unwelcome flinch on short putts which quickly adds a few extra strokes to your scorecard. Though Langer’s game from tee to green remained solid, his inability to convert many relatively short putts shook his confidence and his scoring average.
His severe putting woes nearly ended his golf career.
The 5’9”, 165 pound golfer once said of his problems on short putts, “One time, I four-putted from three feet. Several times, I double-hit putts, which is much harder to do than you might think.”
In typical fashion, the unwavering Langer forged ahead with a focused determination. He tried numerous changes to his putting grip. He ditched his long-time (but very light) “Bulls Eye” style of putter in favor of heavier models. Throughout this crisis of confidence, Langer never gave up hope.
Eventually, Bernhard Langer found a putting solution which rescued his golf career.
He became one of the first professional golfers to use a long handled putter. He anchored the left hand against his chest and then placed the right hand down low to control both the direction and speed of the putt. By separating his hands and using more of his larger muscles in his putting stroke, Langer regained confidence and began to compete at a high level once again.
Good-bye, Mr. Yips!
Soon after Bernhard Langer discovered a solution to his putting woes, he turned age 50 and became eligible to play on the PGA Champions Tour. After teeing it up with the older guys in 2007, he has won at least one senior tour event in every season other than 2021. He has now pocketed nearly $35 million in prize money and 46 victories on the senior circuit over 15 seasons.
Bernhard Langer has always been a very quiet and traditionally reserved golfer – both on and off the course. He is a deeply committed family man who is also quite religious, too. On the golf course, he is best known for his intense discipline, relentless practice sessions, and singular focus and commitment to winning more golf tournaments.
In other words, he has never been one of the most colorful golfers on tour. He is quite reserved and hasn’t changed a bit over the past 50 years.
Some of Bernhard Langer’s fellow touring professionals have joked whether this legendary golfing machine is actually human!
Shreveport’s David Toms (winner of the 2018 US Senior Open) said, “He talked to me this morning (Sunday) at breakfast about how he’s been following Formula 1 (racing). He’s kind of a new fan of that. I’m like, ‘Well, at least you know something besides golf. I wasn’t sure he knew anything else.’”
The stoic and quiet Langer is quite generous with fans and in his support for charitable causes.
He was the 2018 winner of the prestigious Payne Stewart Award. The honor goes to a golfer whose “values align with the character, charity and sportsmanship that the late Payne Stewart showed”.
In addition to winning golf tournaments in Europe and North America, Bernhard Langer has won titles in Asia, Australia, Africa, and South America, too. Only nine-time major champion golfer Gary Player can match that feat.
How much longer does Langer think he can remain competitive on the PGA Champions Tour? After Sunday’s US Senior Open win, he responded, “There are a lot more aches and pains than 10 years ago. I still enjoy the game. If I play like I did this week, I’m going to keep playing.”
Bernhard Langer doesn’t sound like he is ready to retire just yet. He added, “I have my mother that’s going to be 100 on August 4th, so I think I have good genes. Hopefully, I’ll be around a few more years.”
The senior tour’s German golfing machine has a little bit more tread left on his racing tires.