Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛʁnhaʁt ˈlaŋɐ] ^ⓘ; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. 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 number one ranked player following the creation of the Sony Ranking (now the Official World Golf Ranking).

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, with 42 wins on the European Tour (2nd most all-time), three on the PGA Tour, and numerous international victories; including wins on the Japan Golf Tour, Asian Tour, 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, Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange. His second major came at the 1993 Masters Tournament with a four-shot victory over Chip Beck. Langer has also finished runner-up on two occasions at The Open Championship (1981 and 1984). In 2020 Langer became the oldest player in Masters history to make the tournament cut, at age 62 years, 7 months. This record has since been overcome by Fred Couples in 2023.

After turning 50, Langer has established himself as the most successful player in the history of the PGA Tour Champions. He has won a record 12 senior major championships, been the money leader in a record 11 seasons and a record 7 times in a row. He has the most PGA Tour Champions career wins and is the only player to have achieved the current career Senior Grand Slam (winning each of the five current major championships at least once during one's career). He has won the 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2019 Senior Open Championship, the 2010 U.S. Senior Open and 2023 U.S. Senior Open, the 2016 and 2017 Regions Tradition, the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Constellation Senior Players Championship, and the 2017 Senior PGA Championship.

Langer was born on 27 August 1957 in the village of Anhausen, Germany. He is the younger brother of Erwin and Maria. Today it is a part of Diedorf municipality, near Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany.

In 1972, Langer turned professional. He has won many events in Europe and the United States, including The Masters in 1985 and 1993. He was the inaugural #1 when the Official World Golf Rankings were introduced in 1986. 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 ten Ryder Cup 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.

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.

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.