Bernhard Langer will be targeting his 11th Senior Major title when the U.S. Senior Open gets underway at Warren Golf Course, in Indiana, from June 27-30.
The two-time Masters Tournament winner would become the oldest player in history to win the coveted title if he was to capture his second U.S. Open title this week, beating the record currently held by American Allen Doyle, who was 57 years, 11 months and 14 days old when he clinched back-to-back U.S. Senior Open titles in 2006.
The 61-year-old, who already has a win under his belt this season, has never finished outside the Top 25 in 12 consecutive appearances at the tournament but will need to see off a host of Major Champions and former Ryder Cup players if he is to capture his first Senior Major title since the 2017 Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex.
The German, who won 42 times on the European Tour, believes that the key to success on the regular and seniors circuit remain fundamentally the same.
‘’You've got to hit it where you're looking, and you've got to have a good short game and withstand the pressure, enjoy the pressure, embrace it and not shy from it,’’ he said.
‘’The tour has become extremely competitive. Out of the 78 guys that play regularly, there used to be maybe 30 or 40 that could win. Now it's pretty much 60 or 70 of them could win on any given week, and that trend will continue I would think.’’
Langer will be joined in the field by 23 further Staysure Tour members, including 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie and Irish Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke, both of whom are making their U.S. Senior Open debut, and eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie.
Clarke, who famously won the 2011 Open Championship, is expecting a tough test in what is only his thirdstartin a Senior Major Championship.
‘’I think the course is fabulous, I really do, the greens are so slopey that you may have a 10-foot putt with three different breaks in it,’’ he said. ‘’There are very few flat, straightforward putts out there. So, if you're not on your numbers with your wedges or your irons going into the greens and you're not hitting them close enough, you could get yourself into some trouble.’’
The U.S. Open will begin at 12:30pm (BST), with David Toms beginning his title defence at 2:03pm (BST).
