Bernhard Langer: “I’m not going to the Masters just to make up the numbers…”

Bernhard Langer won the Masters in 1985 and 1993 – can he still add to that total?

Exclusive: The two-time Masters winner on chasing records at 65 and why he still has what it takes to compete at Augusta National…

Bernhard Langer would make a very compelling Netflix series. For the last hour, he has been speaking from his home in Florida, rattling through the key points in his life which saw him find God and pushed to the brink of death and early retirement. He is engaging company and a very polished storyteller.

Growing up in post-war Germany, he didn’t have it easy. Besides helping his dad lay bricks to build the family home, he suffered two serious illnesses before the age of five. Doctors even told his mother to prepare for the worst. He was eight by the time he was introduced to golf as a caddie at Golfclub Augsburg, which is where he got hooked on playing. For the first few years, he had to make do with a 2-wood, 3-iron, 7-iron and a putter with a bent-shaft, which he shared with the other caddies.

Despite never having a handicap, he turned pro at 15 and accepted a job offer as an assistant pro at Munich Country Club. It would prove to be a seminal moment. A year later, he was invited to play an exhibition against Jack Nicklaus and two of the best amateurs in Germany. It didn’t go well. A shank on one hole was bad enough, but then he pull-hooked an iron shot which hit a lady member on the shoulder.

After the round, Nicklaus was asked what he thought of the young German. “He’s got a lot of heart,” Nicklaus said, “but he’s got a long way to go.”

Langer likes to remind him about that comment whenever they cross paths. He isn’t bitter, but he is proud of the records he’s set. When the Official World Golf Ranking debuted in 1986, Langer was the first-ever No.1. He went on to represent Europe in 10 Ryder Cups and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002 as the second most successful golfer ever on the European Tour with 42 wins. He’s been adding to his legend even since.

He now has 121 wins worldwide, including a record-equalling 45 on the PGA Tour Champions and two at the Masters, in 1985 and 1993. Talk of retirement is coming, but he has been so good for so long that it’s hard to see where the end point is.

At 65, he remains in extraordinary shape and will even attempt to break his own record as the oldest man to make the cut at the Masters this April. He still looks – and plays – like the guy who became a stalwart for Europe in the Ryder Cup. And as far as he’s concerned, he’s got plenty of fight and game left in him.

Do you still feel like you have the game to contend at Augusta even now?

Well, I did contend, I think it was three years ago, something like that. I can’t recall exactly, but I was on the leaderboard going into Sunday and then the same thing happened two or three years prior to that. But as I’m starting to lose a little bit of distance, it becomes less and less likely for me to contend. But it still brings me a lot of joy to play the golf course and it’s still a great challenge to do as well as I can. I’m not going just to make up the numbers.

Is the course better or worse than when you first started playing there?

It’s different. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse. First of all, it’s much longer. When I first started playing there in the ’80s, there was no rough. You were either in the fairway or you were in the pine needles and straw. Then, many years ago, they started bringing in the semi-cut and planting about 5,000 trees. That has made the course more difficult because the fairways are now half the size. It’s a lot tighter and a lot more unforgiving.

Do you like the recent changes they’ve made, extending some of the holes?

I’m not a big fan but when players are hitting driver, 9-iron into a par 5, as they do on the 13th, for example, it’s obviously a farce. It’s not a par 5. They had to do something and they felt to protect the course they had to lengthen it. I mean, I wasn’t a big fan when they lengthened No.5 two or three years ago. I thought that was an extremely tough par 4 already. I’m hitting 3-wood or 2-hybrid in there.

That aside, what is it about the place which seems to suit your eye so well?

Well, I always thought I would win a British Open because I became a good wind player and always liked links golf. I had my chances, I just never won it. But I guess I enjoyed the wide fairways at Augusta and for most of my career I was a pretty good iron player and I had a lot of imagination around the greens.

Plus, I think I was a better putter than most people thought. I had the yips four times in my career but in between those times, I think I was a pretty decent putter, sometimes very good, which you need to be at Augusta.

That was definitely the case in 1985, your first victory at Augusta. What was it like being paired with Seve on Sunday?

I was used to playing with Seve. We were actually paired in the last group at St Andrews in ’84. So, just nine months later, we’re at it again, playing for a Major championship. We were the second from last group out, ahead of Curtis Strange, who had the lead, and Raymond Floyd. I remember on the first tee Seve came over and said, “OK, let’s play good and let’s keep this trophy in European hands”.

Was there a moment when you thought, Hey, I could actually win this thing?

There’s a couple of things that stick in my mind from that year. I was very fortunate on Saturday, I had a very good break on the 13th when I was five shots behind. I needed a 3-wood to get over Rae’s Creek. It was sitting down in an older divot but I had to go for it, I wasn’t playing for 20th.

I took the 3-wood out and, sure enough, I hit it a little thin and the ball never got higher than three or four feet in the air. It just went like a rocket and it landed short of the creek, hit a little knoll, bounced over the water onto the green, and I made eagle. I then birdied another hole or two after that so I was only two behind, going into the final round.

On Sunday, I played solid on the front nine but Curtis Strange played really good so I was four behind, facing the back nine. I saw the leaderboard and said to my caddie, “Look, we’ve got to go for every pin now. Either we play great or we blow up. It doesn’t matter if we do blow up, I want to win a Major”. After that, I just went for everything and I was swinging well, holing putts. I was five-under over the next eight holes. That gave me a two-shot lead as I stood on the 18th tee.

That must be one of the greatest examples of risk taking paying off?

Well, the other thing I did is I changed my irons mid-tournament, which is very weird. I usually don’t change my irons, period. But at the time I had a new set of irons with me, a back-up set, and because the practice facilities were so good at Augusta, I was testing them. I guess I wasn’t totally happy with the first couple of rounds, so I threw in a new set of irons on the weekend and won my first Major.

Can you remember how you celebrated that night?

There’s a funny story about that because two months earlier I was playing the Australian Masters in Melbourne. I won that and the two guys that organise it, they always treat themselves by going to the Masters at Augusta. They arrived on the Tuesday and decided to put some money on me.

To cut a long story short, if I won $100,000 for winning the Masters, it meant they would win $150,000 or something like that. They obviously mentioned that to me and when I won, they invited my wife and me to an Aussie barbecue at their house. So, we went from the members dinner at 11pm to their house for a couple hours and celebrated their victory in a sense.

When you won for a second time in 1993, did it feel even more special because of what had happened at the Ryder Cup two years earlier?

It was different and special for several reasons. First of all, this time I had a four-shot lead going into Sunday so I didn’t come from behind. I was clearly the best player for the first three days, beating the field by four and more. There was more pressure in a sense because you almost expect to win, even though four shots can dissipate fast at Augusta.

The other thing was some people thought Langer got lucky in ’85 because Curtis Strange messed up, even though I won by two in the end and clearly I was the best player that week. But the biggest thing for me personally is that I became a believer in Jesus Christ after my ’85 Masters win. This time, eight years later, I won on Easter Sunday. The second win was more meaningful for me because of that reason.

How does it compare to everything else you’ve achieved in your career, because you’ve broken a lot of records since then as well?

Yeah, it’s hard to say how it compares. I’ve been blessed to have had a long and good career. I’ve had very few
bad years, really. When you look at some of the stats, 121 professional wins is quite a number. Not many people get anywhere near that. Eleven senior Majors as well and then I’ve just equalled Hale Irwin’s record for the most victories on the PGA Tour Champions.

I’ve also won the money list 11 out of the 12 years, which is difficult to do. So, basically what I’m saying is the consistency that I’ve had for so many years is what’s really satisfying, because it’s very difficult to do that in the game of golf.

How special was it to tie Hale Irwin’s record of 45 wins and extend your own record as the oldest winner on the over-50s circuit?

Well, it’s extremely special because we’ve been talking about it for so long it seems now. When I first came out here, I thought, this is never going to happen. But I’m thrilled to have gotten to the number 45, so now that talk is hopefully a little less, I can focus on other things.

In a strange way, your career has become entwined with Hale Irwin’s as it was your match that decided the 1991 Ryder Cup. Is that something which still gnaws away at you, missing that short putt?

Well, it’s been brought up a lot. When they show the Ryder Cup on TV, they show the battle in ‘91. I mean, you could argue any other half a point would have done for us, but it came down to that one putt and I missed it. I felt bad for the team but at the same time I played really good those last four or five holes, coming back from being two down.

A lot of people thought I lost the match, but I didn’t. I halved the match but the problem is we were behind and we needed a full point. That was disappointing at the time, but I think my belief in God and Jesus Christ helped me a great deal to overcome it and put it in perspective. And I went on to make a longer putt at the German Masters the following Sunday and I ended up winning the playoff.

You did enjoy a lot of success as well in the Ryder Cup, first as a player and then as a captain. What were some of your standout moments?

It’s hard to compare the captaincy [in 2004] with playing because that’s the only time in my life where I was at a golf tournament and never hit one shot. It felt really weird. But at the same time, it was very rewarding. It was the largest winning margin away from home on American soil, so it was certainly one of the highlights of my career.

As a player, I was involved in 10 Ryder Cups and there were a lot of fun stories inside the team room that will never get out. But I think I made the winning putt at Valderrama and then in my very last Ryder Cup [in 2002], I won three matches and drew the other which is pretty incredible when you’re 45 years old.

I do have some very fond memories, like being on top of the roof at The Belfry, spraying champagne on everybody, or dancing on the 18th green at Jack Nicklaus’ course in Ohio. All those things you never forget.

Do you miss it, the team element? 

You know, there were times when I played so well on the Champions Tour when I was 50 or even 56 and I felt like I was playing some of the best golf in my life. I did wonder if the Ryder Cup captain was actually aware of that and if he was paying attention and considering me for a pick. It never happened but yeah, I do miss it. It is a very special event.

Before you mentioned about some of the tough moments you experienced in your career, like battling through the yips four times. How debilitating was that?

It got really bad. Putting is the most important part of the game and when you have the yips, you can’t make it from three foot on numerous occasions. It first started when I was 18 and joined the European Tour. I drove down to Spain and Portugal, played the first couple of weeks of the 1976 season, and immediately felt very uncomfortable putting.

It turned into the yips and I had never even heard about it. I didn’t even know what I was dealing with. I changed the grip and felt a little more comfortable but it took a matter of weeks and months before I started playing good again. And then it happened again in ‘82 and ‘89 and then one more time in ‘90 something. 

Most of the time I just practised a great deal. I tried different grips, different stances, different lengths of putter. I was one of the first to putt crosshanded and I was probably the first to putt split crosshanded like [Matt] Kuchar does. I actually won the Masters that way. Eventually I went to the long putter.

It was extremely difficult because you know if you don’t snap out of it, sooner or later you’re going to lose your card and your enjoyment for the game because you’re messing up in front of millions of golf fans and viewers.

Did you ever consider quitting? 

Yeah, there was a time in ‘89 when I had the yips so bad. I was playing in Michigan and had more putts than shots those two days and missed the cut. I went to my hotel room and believe it or not, I started talking to God. I just said, ‘You know, Lord, if you want me to do something else, I’m ready to give up the game. Just tell me what you want me to do because this is no fun’.

At the time I was just creating expenses instead of making money. But I felt that he wanted me to persevere, and I snapped out of it shortly afterwards. I mean, it’s been amazing what has happened since.

Does it put everything into perspective and make you appreciate the successes more? 

Yes, it does. But I also come from a small village in Bavaria where golf at the time was nothing. People didn’t even know what golf was. I would tell other kids or even adults that I wanted to become a golfer and they would say, ‘What, miniature golf? How are you going to make a living doing that?’ That was golf to them.

When I think about the background I had, there were very few golf courses and very little competition with four months of winter when you couldn’t even play. To come through all that and be one of the best is a remarkable story. I feel very fortunate.

You’ve always been a fighter throughout your career. Where do you think that resilience comes from? 

It probably comes from my parents, my DNA. I’m a competitor, I like to win. I like to be good at what I’m doing. I probably outworked most of my colleagues over the years. Giving up was not in my DNA. I always tried to find a solution to whatever problem was thrown in my way. 

You also had to contend with a pretty serious back injury as a teenager as well?

Yeah, that happened in the military service when I was 19. I had a stress fracture in my lower back and a bulging disc. That usually doesn’t go away. They told me a few years later when I was getting back problems again that we need to operate on you, you can’t live like this. But here I am, 65 years old, and I haven’t had an operation. I wouldn’t let them operate on me. I tried other ways and other things and so far it has worked.

What do you think has been the secret to your longevity then?

It’s not one secret. My foundation is my belief in God. The rest comes down to determination, hard work and surrounding myself with good people.

How long will you keep playing The Masters?

I’ll play it for as long as I feel I’m not making a fool of myself. I asked Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley if there was an age or time limit on how long I can play. He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Bernhard, you can play as long as you like! You will know when the time is right’.

That’s good to know because I wasn’t sure. Obviously, I’m not going to enjoy shooting big numbers and missing the cut by 20!

I’ve always said three things have to be in place for me to want to keep playing the game. I’ve got to be healthy so I’m able to walk and swing the way I want to swing. The second thing is I’ve got to enjoy the game. I don’t want to be out there otherwise. Thirdly, I’ve got to feel like I can have some kind of success. So far those three things are in place and I’m still having a good time out there.

Have you surprised yourself by how much you’ve achieved in your career?

I think I have, yes. But sometimes I look back at how many seconds I’ve had and think, if I had been a better putter, I actually could have won a whole lot more.

How does your game compare now to how you were playing, say, 30 years ago?

For much of the last 15 years my game was really, really good. I think I’ve become a better ball striker and better under pressure. The only thing that’s happening now is that I’m losing distance a little bit. It’s not much, I still hit it close to 280 (yards) off the tee, whereas other guys are hitting it 330 and I’m way behind. So that’s become the issue and it’s hard to compete at the very highest level when you’re hitting a 3-iron and somebody else is hitting a 9-iron or pitching wedge.

Is golf still a job for you or is it a passion now?

It’s been both those things all my life. It’s mostly a passion, but sometimes it feels like a job. Now, I’m happy to put the clubs away for a few days or a week because I have other interests. I have four kids, four grandkids, and I want to take it a little easier. When I was 20, I was focused on golf and golf alone. Now it’s a little different.

But you still keep turning up at the tournaments. Are you addicted to competition?

I think that once you’ve had that adrenaline go through your veins and you know that feeling, it is almost addictive because you want to feel that pressure again and again. But I think there’s more to it. Knowing that I’m pretty good at what I’m doing and being around some of my friends out on tour is what keeps me coming back.

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About the author

Michael Catling
Today’s Golfer Features Editor

Michael Catling is Today’s Golfer‘s Features Editor and an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.

Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with dozens of Major champions, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, and Justin Thomas.

A former member of Ufford Park and Burghley Park, Michael has been playing golf since he was 11 and currently plays off a handicap of 10.

Away from golf he’s a keen amateur chef and has his own healthy recipes website. He also loves playing squash, going to the gym, and following Chelsea FC.

Michael uses a Ping G driver, Ping G 3-wood, Ping G Crossover 3-iron, Ping G Series irons (4-PW), Ping Glide wedges (52º, 56º, 60º), TaylorMade MySpider Tour Putter, and Srixon AD333 golf ball.

Get in touch with Michael via email and follow him on Twitter.