Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Two-time champion Bernhard Langer of Germany is preparing for an emotional farewell when he tees it up in his 41st and final Masters at Augusta National on Thursday. “You can tell already my voice is breaking a bit just realizing it’s going to be my last competitive Masters,” the 67-year-old said Monday, as he spoke to reporters and watched along with a video of his tournament highlights prepared by Augusta National Golf Club. “After four decades, it’s going to be bittersweet.”
Langer had planned to make last year his final appearance but instead found himself recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. He admits that just walking Augusta National, whose famed azaleas and blooming dogwoods camouflage deceptively rugged terrain, will be a challenge, and it has been a long time since he has had the length to truly attack the course. “The course is just getting too long and I’m getting shorter and shorter and I’m hitting hybrids where other kids are hitting nine-irons and eight-irons, maybe even wedges.”
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“So I knew I wasn’t going to be in contention anymore,” he said. “A few years back I asked the chairman of the club, ‘Is there a time limit? Do we age out when we’re 60? Or what is it?’ He said, ‘No, you will know when it’s time to quit. It’s totally up to you.’ It is time to quit. I’m just not competitive on this course anymore.”
But this week, Langer will celebrate his unlikely history at Augusta, where in 1982 he became the first German to play the Masters. Just getting there was an almost unimaginable journey for a boy from a small village in a country where professional golf “was nothing.” Langer didn’t just make it to Augusta; he triumphed there, winning the first of his two titles in 1985 when Spanish great Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd, and Curtis Strange tied for second. In 1993, an eagle at the 13th and a birdie at the 15th on Sunday carried him to a four-stroke victory over Chip Beck.
“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,” Langer said. “So that has 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.”
Whether the memories will come bubbling up there or elsewhere remains to be seen, Langer said. “Hopefully I can control myself until the 18th, but there’s no guarantees,” he said. “Usually I’m pretty good compartmentalizing, so when I’m inside the ropes, my mind switches to being a competitor.”
That ability has helped Langer amass 42 DP World Tour titles and, since he turned 50, 47 victories on the Champions Tour in the United States. Langer, who was the first man to be installed as world number one, has already made his farewell to the European tour with a final appearance at the BMW International Open last year. But, he says, there’s something special about saying goodbye to the Masters.
“I think I can say this for every champion,” he said. “We’re extremely proud to be wearing the green jacket and representing the Masters all over the world.”
© 2024 AFP
