Bernhard Langer

Life and work

Langer was born in the village of Anhausen, which today is a part of Diedorf municipality, near Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. He turned professional in 1972 and has won many events in Europe and the United States, including The Masters in 1985 and 1993. He was the inaugural World Number 1 when the Official World Golf Rankings were introduced in 1986. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 (but deferred his induction until 2002). He ranks second in career wins on the European Tour (42) and has also played regularly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, especially in the late 1980s and since 2000. He finished in a tie for fifth at The Open Championship the month before he turned 48, and regained a ranking in the top 100 three months before he turned 50. Along with Gary Player, David Graham, Hale Irwin and Justin Rose, Langer is one of only five players to have won official tournaments on all six continents on which golf is played. He played on 10 Ryder Cup teams (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002) and was the non-playing captain of the victorious European team in 2004.

Langer has battled the yips, having a strong tendency to flinch or twitch during putting. He has changed his putter grip numerous times in an attempt to cure the problem. In the 1991 Ryder Cup, Langer missed a five-foot putt that would have tied the Ryder Cup and allowed the European team to retain the trophy.

Langer has been married to his American wife Vikki Carol since 1984. They have four children: Jackie, Stefan, Christina, and Jason. They maintain homes in Langer's birthplace of Anhausen and in Boca Raton, Florida. Langer is known to be a devout Christian.

In 2006, in recognition of his contribution to the sport of golf, Langer was appointed as an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE). In his native Germany, Langer has received multiple honors, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Silver Laurel Leaf (Silbernes Lorbeerblatt), which is the highest German sport award. In July 2016, he was inducted into Germany's Sport Hall of Fame.

In 2015, Langer became the first player since Arnold Palmer (1984–85) to win the Constellation Senior Players Championship in back-to-back years. It was also the last year that Langer was allowed to use the anchor putter, which the USGA banned effective 1 January 2016. At the 2016 Masters, Langer was in the second to last group in the final round only two shots back, but fell to a tie for 24th.

In 2016, Langer claimed the Regions Tradition title for his sixth senior major championship. He won by a six stroke margin over Olin Browne. This was his 100th professional win and the first time Langer had won the title, meaning that he is only missing the Senior PGA Championship to complete a career Grand Slam. This also made him only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, with wins in four different senior major championships. Later in 2016 he wrote history by becoming the first three-time winner of the Constellation Senior Players Championship and wins it for third straight year. The result also meant that only Nicklaus has won more senior majors than Langer. In November, he won his fourth Charles Schwab Cup and his third in a row.

In January 2017, US president Donald Trump used a story about Langer's failed attempt at voting in the United States to justify an investigation of voter fraud in the 2016 US presidential election. The story was covered in several media outlets. Since Langer is a citizen only of Germany, he was not eligible to vote.

European Tour wins (42)

* Langer and Montgomerie agreed to share the 2002 Volvo Masters Andalucia after failing light caused play to halt after 2 holes of a playoff.

European Tour playoff record (8–6–2)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Asian Tour wins (1)

Other wins (27)

Note: the German National Open Championship is a different event from the German Open listed five times in the European Tour wins section. That event was open to all comers, German and non-German. The German National Open Championship is "open" to German golfers whether they are amateur or professional.

PGA Tour Champions wins (33)

Note: The U.S. senior tour was known as the Champions Tour during Langer's first nine seasons on that circuit (2007–2015). The PGA Tour rebranded the senior circuit as PGA Tour Champions effective with the 2016 season.

* Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (5–4)

European Senior Tour wins (6)

* The U.S. Senior Open and Senior PGA Championship are unofficial money events on the European Senior Tour.

Note: The Senior Open Championship and the U.S. Senior Open are both co-sanctioned events by PGA Tour Champions and the European Senior Tour.

Other senior wins (1)

Results timeline

WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Wins (10)

¹Defeated Jeff Sluman in a sudden death playoff with birdie on second extra hole

Senior results timeline

Results are not in chronological order before 2017.

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for a win. Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances