Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Two-time champion Bernhard Langer completed an emotional farewell to Augusta National on Friday, missing the cut in his 41st Masters appearance amid an outpouring of support from friends, family, and fans. “There were lots of emotions flooding through my mind the last two days as I was walking down the fairways,” the 67-year-old German said. “I saw my wife, I saw my four kids, and I saw two of my grandkids came out and supported me, and friends from Germany and family from Germany. Just even friends from all over the world, literally, were walking a few holes with me. It meant a great deal,” added Langer, whose son Jason caddied for him this week.
There were also standing ovations in various spots around the course from Augusta patrons — starting on Thursday at the first tee. “I almost teared up and almost started crying right there, and I said, ‘Come on, get it together, you’ve got some golf to play.'” Langer has played a lot of memorable golf at Augusta National, where he became the first German to play the Masters in 1982. He won the first of his two titles in 1985, holding off Spanish great Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd, and Curtis Strange. 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.
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Although Langer said he simply no longer has the length to be competitive on the iconic Georgia course, he admitted that there were times this week that he wondered if he had made the right decision to make this his last appearance. “Because I was playing quite well and very smart,” he said. “But I think, looking back, it is still the right decision just for the reasons I shared — it’s just the golf course is too long for me.”
Langer carded a two-over 74 in the first round, but harbored hopes of making the cut when he found himself two-under for the day after his third birdie at the par-three 12th — where he hit “a perfect eight-iron … knocked it right behind the flag and made the putt.” But a double bogey at 15 and a bogey at 18 saw him post a one-over 73 — his three-over total of 147 putting him just outside the cut.
Langer, who has thrived on the Champions Tour over-50 circuit, remains enough of a competitor to be irked by his miscues. “I actually hit a beautiful wedge into 15 to the middle of the green, and it spun all the way back in the water, and I made seven,” he said, saying the wind was the culprit. “I hit a perfect golf shot, literally, and I made seven, which is very annoying. Otherwise, I would be here this weekend.” That’s how golf is,” Langer said. “It can be the greatest game, and sometimes it can be very brutal.”
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