The 86th edition of the Masters Tournament marks the 40th anniversary of two-time champion Bernhard Langer’s debut at Augusta National Golf Club.
Langer, who has a special connection with the famed event having won the Green Jacket in 1985 and then 1993, may turn 65 in August but he continues to defy his age and prove class is permanent.
The German will make his 39th appearance at the Masters this week, having made his debut in 1982, and recent history suggests there is every reason to believe he can impress.
Langer has made the cut in six of his last ten visits to Augusta. In 2020, he became the oldest player in history to make the cut at the event as he tied for 29th, aged 63.
That feat followed a tie for eighth in 2014, while two years later he was in the second to last group in the final round only two shots back, before he finished in a tie for 24th.
But ahead of his 40-year milestone, Langer is keen to admit he – like almost every golfer who first encounters Augusta – found the undulating nature of the course, in particular the greens, a stern challenge.
“I was 11 shots behind the leaders, and I had 11 three-putts in 36 holes,” Langer told the official Masters website as he reflected on his missed cut in 1982.
“I learned a lesson the hard way. I knew that for next time I had to figure out how to hit my second shots in different places and spend more time getting the speed and lines right on putts.”
40 years since his #TheMasters debut.
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 6, 2022
Take a bow, @BernhardLanger6 🙌 pic.twitter.com/JXU7feuEPs
By the time Langer made his third appearance three years later, he had gone from a three-time winner on the DP World Tour to holding 11 Tour titles.
He also finished tied for second at the Open Championship in 1984, having finished runner-up at the same Major in 1981.
Six shots off the lead at the midway stage of the 1985 Masters, Langer moved into contention with a four under par 68 on Saturday to sit two shots back from leader Raymond Floyd going into the final round.
Langer birdied four of the last seven holes to win his first Major, aged 27, and become just the second champion from Europe.
Among many highlights in Langer’s career, he was the inaugural World Number One in the Official World Golf Rankings in 1986.
He would go on to record eight top tens in Majors before he landed his second Masters title in 1993 when he finished four shots ahead of American Chip Beck.
But, as one of 17 golfers to have won the Green Jacket more than once, what are his goals for this Masters?
“The motivation is simple – it’s just being there,” Langer said.
“Competing is a treat, a wonderful thing. For me to win again is not impossible but extremely unlikely. I’m too short and hitting too long a shot into the greens. On a competitive level, making the cut is probably the main goal at this point because I’m giving up 50 to 100 yards to some of these players. But I try to find a different way to get it done.”
Whatever the outcome of this week for Langer, which carries such personal resonance, he hopes to be a source of inspiration to fellow professionals.
“Golf is a phenomenal game,” he added. “I’d like to be a role model to the younger guys by the way I conduct myself.
“And I hope some of my generation will realize that just because you’re in your 50s or 60s, you don’t have to go downhill.
“You’re probably going to lose some power, but you can get better mentally and in other parts of the game.”
