In 1982, four months before his 25th birthday, Bernhard Langer made his first journey down Magnolia Lane. Already a three-time winner on the European Tour, even a runner-up finish to Bill Rogers at Royal St. George’s in the 1981 Open Championship wasn’t enough to secure his invitation to The Masters, but he did so by topping the European Tour Order of Merit that year. And now, 43 years later, he’s preparing for his final journey as a Masters Tournament competitor.
“It is going to be a bittersweet experience realising it’s going to be my last competitive rounds here at the Masters Tournament,” he said. “At the same time, I realise the course is too long and I’m getting shorter. I have no chance to win anymore, so it’s time to say goodbye. But it will also be a special time to be there with all my family and friends to support me and to say farewell from one of my favorite events and venues.”
Langer didn’t qualify in 1983, but he did in ’84, making his first cut and then in ’85, he shocked the world to secure a two-stroke win over Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange. It was a remarkable turnaround for the man who’d been befuddled by the heavily sloping greens on his debut.
“Yeah, generally, I learn fairly quickly from my mistakes,” he said. “When I played my first Masters, I made 11 three-putts in two rounds, which is way too much. I figured I got to study the greens more, know every detail of all the greens, where to place the second shot, so I have an easier path. I was way better in 84 and then 85 turned out to be great.”
Great might be an understatement, and having become the first German to play in a Ryder Cup in 1981, breaking the barrier and becoming the first to win a major championship would be a pivotal moment for German golf.
“It took a little while [to sink in], but it was certainly unlikely for a German, especially me, coming from a very small village of Anhausen near Augsburg, to become one of the best players in the world of golf,” he recalls. “Golf was nothing in Germany at the time. Many people, when you said you’re a golfer, they thought you play mini-golf. There was just a lot of confusion. But as I had more and more success and a couple others followed in my footsteps, I think the reputation of golf was gradually changing. The game of golf is certainly much more widespread in Germany now than what it was 50 years ago.”
In 1993, he won his second Green Jacket, this time in opposite fashion as he’d held a four-stroke 54-hole lead whereas in 1985 he’d gone into the final round alongside Ballesteros, but two behind Floyd and one behind Strange.
“Well, I think for many, it’s easier to be the chaser. But I’ve been in many positions, either chasing or leading. And you’ve got to embrace it and make the best of it. My two wins here at the Masters were different, the first one I was chasing and the second one I was the one being chased. So very different and very opposite. But fortunately, I came out on top on both sides,” he explained.
Should Langer make the cut this year, it would be his 28th time seeing weekend action at Augusta National but would also see him overtake Fred Couples as the oldest player to survive the 36-hole chop.
“Fred Couples and I have been rivals and friends for many years and it would be very nice to take that back from him,” he said. “The record of being the oldest player to make the cut. Who knows, he might do it again in the future because he’s a great champion and has a lot of game. But there’s always that little bit of rivalry that’s going on. To achieve this, I would have to play almost perfect golf, from tee to green, and especially putt well, because I can save a lot of strokes if I make putts, and my short game needs to be spot on as well.”
Whether it be on Friday or on Sunday, he’s not sure if he’ll be able to hold back the emotions as he picks his ball out of the hole for the final time, or quite where the emotional strings will be pulled the toughest.
“Well, if it doesn’t hit me earlier on, it will definitely hit me on 18, I know that,” he said. “But one of my favorite places was always Amen Corner here. It’s just a beautiful part of the golf course.
“The 13th hole, I’ve made eagle there on Saturday in ’85 to get into contention and I made eagle on Sunday in ’93 to win. So that’s become one of my favorite holes, not just because I made eagles but just the beauty of the hole and what it demands from you.
“Yeah, to answer your question, hopefully I can control myself until the 18th, but there’s no guarantees.”
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