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 number one ranked player following the creation of the Sony Ranking (now the

Official World Golf Ranking 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 "rolling ...

). 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 the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, with 42 wins on the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

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

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, and numerous international victories; including wins on the

Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour () is a prominent professional golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006, it offered the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the ...

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

, Australasian Tour, and the

Tour de las Américas The Tour de las Américas (TLA) was the principal men's professional golf tour throughout Latin America and the Caribbean from 2000 through to 2012 when it was superseded by the PGA Tour Latinoamérica. History Top level tournament golf in Lat ...

. 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 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 th ...

(

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

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 Southeas ...

). 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 Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...

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 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and 2019 Senior Open Championship, the 2010 U.S. Senior Open and 2023 U.S. Senior Open, the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and 2017 Regions Tradition, the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Constellation Senior Players Championship, and the 2017 Senior PGA Championship.

Life and work

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

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, 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 as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major golf championships, men's major championships in Professional golf tours, professional golf. Schedul ...

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 n ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. 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 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 (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 tour and nine ...

, 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. ...

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 The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

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, 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 ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

. Langer is known to be a devout Christian. Daughter Christina is married to professional baseball player Chase De Jong. 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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 (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

and the Silver Laurel Leaf ('' Silbernes Lorbeerblatt''), 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 an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

, 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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

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 Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and ...

. 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. 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 PGA Tour Champions. In October 2021, Langer won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in a playoff over Doug Barron. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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 PGA Tour Champions 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 for the third time. This was his first win as a 65-year-old and his 44th win on PGA Tour Champions. In February 2023, Langer successfully defended his title at the Chubb Classic. This was his 45th win on the PGA Tour Champions, tying him with

. Langer birdied five of his last seven holes in the final round to shoot 65 and earn a three-stroke victory. In July 2023, Langer won the U.S. Senior Open by two strokes over

Steve Stricker Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-Match Play title in 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Pla ...

at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. This win put him ahead of

with a record 46 career titles on the PGA Tour Champions. In November 2024, Langer won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship by one stroke over Steven Alker and Richard Green, also extending his age record and most wins on PGA Tour Champions.

Professional wins (125)

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)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1)

Asian PGA Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

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

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

¹Co-sanctioned by the Asian PGA Tour

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 (14)

Other playoff record (3–0)

PGA Tour Champions wins (47)

*''Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.'' PGA Tour Champions playoff record (7–10)

European Senior Tour wins (8)

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 (12)

Results timeline

''Results are not in chronological order.'' 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 name is ...

(representing Germany):

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, 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 (no ...

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 Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

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 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

(winners),

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

(individual winner),

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

(winners) *

(representing Europe):

1983 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 of the ...

(winners),

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

(winners),

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

(tied – retained trophy),

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

(winners),

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

(winners),

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

(winners),

(non-playing captain – winners) * Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing the Continent of Europe): 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982 (captain) *

Four Tours World Championship The Four Tours World Championship was an annual professional golf tournament that was played from 1985 to 1991. It was played between teams representing the four main professional tours: the American PGA Tour, the PGA European Tour, the PGA Tour o ...

(representing Europe): 1985 (captain), 1986 (captain), 1987 (captain), 1989 (captain), 1990 *

Alfred Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championsh ...

(representing Germany):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

* Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe):

(winners) *

UBS Cup The UBS Cup was a team golf tournament contested by the United States and a team representing the "Rest of the World" which ran from 2001 to 2004. In 2001 and 2002 it was called the UBS Warburg Cup. Six golfers on each side had to be 50 or over, and ...

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

Notes

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) Golfers from Boca Raton, Florida 1957 births Living people 20th-century German sportsmen

Life and work

Senior career

Professional wins (125)

PGA Tour wins (3)

European Tour wins (42)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

Asian PGA Tour wins (1)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

South American Tour wins (2)

Other German wins (13)

Other wins (14)

PGA Tour Champions wins (47)

European Senior Tour wins (8)

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 (12)

Results timeline

Team appearances

See also

Notes

References

External links