Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first official number one ranked player following the creation of the

OWGR The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. Langer is one of five golfers who have won professional golf events on all six continents where golf is played. He has victories on all the premiere

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metr ...

, with 42 wins on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...

( 2nd most all-time), three on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, and numerous international victories; including wins on the

Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour ( ja, 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after ...

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for ...

, Australasian Tour, and the Tour de las Américas. The highlights of Langer's career are his two major championships. His first major win came at the 1985 Masters Tournament, where Langer won by two strokes over runners-up

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

Raymond Floyd Raymond Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and four senior majors. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame i ...

and Curtis Strange. His second major came at the

1993 Masters Tournament The 1993 Masters Tournament was the 57th Masters Tournament, held April 8–11 at Augusta National Golf Club. Bernhard Langer won his second Masters championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Chip Beck. Heavy rains on Friday afternoon caused ...

with a four-shot victory over

Chip Beck Charles Henry "Chip" Beck (born September 12, 1956) is an American golfer who was a three-time All-American at the University of Georgia. He has four victories on the PGA Tour and twenty runner-up finishes. He spent 40 weeks in the top 10 of the ...

. Langer has also finished runner-up on two occasions at

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

(

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

). In 2020 Langer became the oldest player in Masters history to make the tournament cut, at age 63. After turning 50, Langer has established himself as the most successful player in the history of the

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many yea ...

. He has won a record 11 senior major championships, been the money leader in a record 11 seasons and a record 7 times in a row. He has the second most PGA Tour Champions career wins and is one of only two players who have achieved the career ''Senior Grand Slam'' (winning each of the five major championships at least once during one's career). He has won the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2019 Senior Open Championship The 2019 Senior Open Championship was a senior major golf championship and the 33rd Senior Open Championship, held on 25–28 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham, England. It was the 5th Senior Open Championship played at the co ...

, the

2010 U.S. Senior Open The 2010 U.S. Senior Open was a senior major golf championship and the 31st U.S. Senior Open, held July 29 to August 1 at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. It was the first U.S. Senior Open played at the c ...

, the 2016 and

2017 Regions Tradition The 2017 Regions Tradition was a senior major golf championship and the 29th Regions Tradition, held from May 18–21 at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Hoover, Alabama. It was the second Regions Tradition played at the course. World Golf Hall ...

, the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Constellation Senior Players Championship, and the 2017

Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

Life and work

Langer was born on 27 August 1957 in the village of Anhausen, which today is a part of Diedorf municipality, near

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the '' ...

, Bavaria, Germany. He turned professional in 1972 and has won many events in Europe and the United States, including

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. 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 The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 g ...

in 2001 (but deferred his induction until 2002).Profile at the World Golf Hall of Fame
/ref> He ranks second in career wins on the

(42) and has also played regularly on the U.S.-based

, especially in the late 1980s and since 2000. He finished in a tie for fifth at

the month before he turned 48, and regained a ranking in the top 100 three months before he turned 50. Along with

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

, David Graham,

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

and

Justin Rose Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour, while keeping his membership on the European Tour. He won his first major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf ...

, Langer is one of only five players to have won official tournaments on all six continents on which golf is played. He played on ten

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

teams (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002), winning five times, and was the non-playing captain of the victorious European team in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. Langer has battled the

yips In sports, the yips (in gymnastics, lost move syndrome or the twisties) are a sudden and unexplained loss of ability to execute certain skills in experienced athletes. Symptoms of the yips are losing fine motor skills and psychological issues that ...

, 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 Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

. 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 The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE). In his native Germany, Langer has received multiple honors, including the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

and the Silver Laurel Leaf (''

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

''), which is the highest German sport award. In July 2016, he was inducted into Germany's Sport Hall of Fame.

Senior career

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 anchor the long putter, a technique 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. His capture of the 2017 Senior PGA Championship completed a career Grand Slam. The Regions Tradition title had also made him only the second golfer, after

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...

, 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 had 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 Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

used an incorrect 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 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket o ...

. The story was covered in several media outlets. Since Langer is a citizen only of Germany, he was not eligible to vote. Langer won three more senior majors in 2017 to become the most decorated player in the senior ranks of all time. In total, he won seven titles – but he did not win the season-ending Schwab Cup. Instead, Kevin Sutherland, who was fifth in the Order of Merit heading into the final event of the season, won that to lift the trophy in what was his only win of the season. Langer subsequently called the playoff process 'unfair'. In September 2018, Langer received the

Payne Stewart Award The Payne Stewart Award is an award given by the PGA Tour and presented by Southern Company since the award's inception in 2000. The award, given annually the week of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, is in honor of World Golf Hall of ...

. In November 2018, Langer won his fifth Charles Schwab Cup. This brought his lifetime earnings in the Charles Schwab Cup to $7,000,000. In July 2019, Langer won his fourth Senior Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club. This marked his eleventh victory in a senior major championship. In March 2020, Langer won the Cologuard Classic for his 41st victory on the

. In October 2021, Langer won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in a playoff over

Doug Barron Doug Barron is a Scottish former professional footballer and actor who played as a defender. Born in Edinburgh, he played over 300 matches in the Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional ...

. This made him the oldest man to win a PGA Tour Champions event at 64 years, 1 month and 27 days. In November 2021, Langer won his sixth Charles Schwab Cup for the combined 2020–21 season. The Cup was awarded for play over two seasons due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Langer's total career earnings through 2021 on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions were more than US$42 million. In February 2022, Langer won the Chubb Classic for the fourth time. At 64 years, 5 months, 23 days he broke his own record for oldest winner on the

and won for the 16th straight season. This win left him two behind

for the career PGA Tour Champions record. In November 2022, Langer won the

TimberTech Championship :''There was also a tournament by the same name now called the Principal Charity Classic'' The Boca Raton Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2007, it has been played at the Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca R ...

for the third time. This was his first win as a 65-year-old and his 44th win on

Professional wins (120)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

European Tour wins (42)

''*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain.''
*Ballesteros and Langer agreed to share the 1986 Trophée Lancôme after failing light caused play to halt after four holes of a playoff.
*Langer and Montgomerie agreed to share the 2002 Volvo Masters Andalucía after failing light caused play to halt after two holes of a playoff. European Tour playoff record (8–6–2)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1)

Asian Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for Official World ...

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

South American Tour wins (2)

Other German wins (13)

*1975 German National Open Championship *1977 German National Open Championship *1979 German National Open Championship, German PGA Championship *1984 German National Open Championship *1985 German National Open Championship *1986 German National Open Championship *1987 German National Open Championship *1988 German National Open Championship *1989 German National Open Championship *1990 German National Open Championship *1991 German National Open Championship *1992 German National Open Championship 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.

Other wins (12)

Other playoff record (2–0)

PGA Tour Champions wins (44)

*''Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.'' PGA Tour Champions playoff record (7–9)

European Senior Tour wins (7)

European Senior Tour playoff record (0–2)

Other senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
NT = No tournament due to

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1994 Masters – 1996 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (11)

Results timeline

''Results are not in chronological order before 2021.'' CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to

Team appearances

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing Germany):

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, 1980, 1990 (winners),

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

(individual winner),

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

, 2006 (winners) *

(representing Europe):

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

(winners),

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

(winners),

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

(tied – retained trophy),

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

(winners),

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

(winners),

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

(winners),

(non-playing captain – winners) * Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing the Continent of Europe): 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982 (captain) * Four Tours World Championship (representing Europe): 1985 (captain), 1986 (captain), 1987 (captain), 1989 (captain), 1990 * Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Germany):

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

* Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe):

(winners) * UBS Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2001, 2002, 2003 (tie), 2004 * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Champions Tour): 2010, 2012, 2013

Notes and references

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langer, Bernhard German male golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Winners of senior major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Augsburg (district) Sportspeople from Swabia (Bavaria) Sportspeople from Boca Raton, Florida 1957 births Living people

Life and work

Senior career

Professional wins (120)

PGA Tour wins (3)

European Tour wins (42)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Asian Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

South American Tour wins (2)

Other German wins (13)

Other wins (12)

PGA Tour Champions wins (44)

European Senior Tour wins (7)

Other senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

Summary

Results in The Players Championship

Results in World Golf Championships

Senior major championships

Wins (11)

Results timeline

Team appearances

See also

Notes and references

External links