Langer seeking third straight Senior Players title
Bernhard Langer appreciated the support he received in the final round of last month's Masters, not just the standing ovations at Augusta National Golf Club but in calls and texts that people offered, quite a few of which were along the lines of "really pulling for you, one for the old guys."
Bernhard Langer appreciated the support he received in the final round of last month's Masters, not just the standing ovations at Augusta National Golf Club but in calls and texts that people offered, quite a few of which were along the lines of "really pulling for you, one for the old guys."
Still, it didn't take away completely the sting of the result for the two-time Masters champion. Standing 2 strokes behind 54-hole leader Jordan Spieth entering Sunday, the 58-year-old Langer closed with a 79 and wound up tied for 24th.
Langer plays much of his tournament golf these days on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly known as the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, where he has won 26 times since turning 50. In four weeks, he will compete in a tour major, the Constellation Senior Players Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown, seeking his third straight title in the event.
In a telephone interview from this week's Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Langer called his Masters finish "something that golf can do to you."
"I certainly was encouraged by the first three rounds and that I could even be in contention on a very long golf course," he said Wednesday. "Obviously I didn't like the way I finished. Part of that was being extremely aggressive. My goal was to win. I didn't care if I finished third or fifth or 15th or 30th. It didn't matter.
"You only have so many opportunities to win, so I played very aggressive on Sunday and missed my targets by a few yards here and there. I got punished for it, and it turned out to be an ugly round."
Langer said it felt "really good" to compete on a course laid out at more than 7,400 yards. It's another example of the consistent excellence he has shown on the PGA Tour Champions, where his 26 career wins are third behind Hale Irwin and Lee Trevino. In 173 events on the tour, he has 121 top-10 finishes.
Langer has enjoyed particular success at the Senior Players, winning the event in 2014 at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh and in 2015 at Belmont Country Club near Boston. He is meticulous in learning courses on which he hasn't competed, especially the Wissahickon layout at Cricket Club, which was reopened in 2014 after renovation.
"I think I may be a little bit better than most, but there's a lot of really good professionals," he said. "They know what to look for and they have professional caddies. We have two or three days to spy it all out and to map it out, and that should be enough."
Besides Langer, commitments for the Senior Players include new senior John Daly, the long-driving two-time major winner who made his debut on the tour last weekend; long-time European Ryder Cup star Miguel Angel Jimenez; and Woody Austin, the tour's top money-winner.
Others expected to play include Tom Watson, Colin Montgomerie, Tom Lehman, Kenny Perry, Jeff Maggert, Mark O'Meara, Lee Janzen, and Fred Funk.
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