Augusta, Ga. – Bernhard Langer left the 18th green at the Augusta National Golf Club with a smile on his face Friday afternoon, completely overwhelmed with emotion.
Changing, after missing the cup at its 41st and last departure at the Masters, removed its visor and made a sign of the crowd which was located along the last green. After hugging the national president of Augusta, Fred Ridley, Langer, 67, found his family. Then, with the hand of his wife Vikki in his, the pair took the long step of the green at the clubhouse for the last time.
“There have been a lot of ovations standing on the golf course in various places,” said Lange later. “Today, 18 years ago, there were mixed emotions because I was still inside the cup line, even when I was doing Bogey.”
Advertisement
Changing was at 2 letters heading towards his ball nestled next to the 18th green and needed to retire to make the cut, but his 11 feet putt burned the edge and would not fall.
“There have been a lot of emotions that have flooded in my mind the last two days while I was walking in the fairways …”, he said. “I saw my wife, I saw my four children, and I saw two of my grandchildren go out and supported me, and friends from Germany and the family of Germany. Even friends around the world, literally, walk a few holes with me. It meant a lot. ”
Langer grew up in Anhausen, Germany, where he said that “golf was nothing” at the time. He started caddying and then took a job as a local golf assistant. “I thought it was going to be my life,” he reflected on Friday afternoon.
But quickly, the changing career took off. He won 42 times during the DP World Tour and has become a dominant force in the European teams of the Ryder Cup, of which he played out of 10. He was the first person to be classified n ° 1 in the official classification of world golf during their first introduction.
Advertisement
Langer won three times on the PGA Tour during his career, two of which came to Augusta National, where in 1982, he became the first German to play in the Masters. He won his first green jacket in 1985 when he was only 27 years old. This victory, which only intervened after joining to beat Curtis Strange during the final round, only made him the third international winner in the history of the tournament.
Langer also won next week in the South Carolina qualifiers. He then won his second masters in 1993 and was inducted at the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. Finally, Langer joined the PGA Tour champions. He has now won 47 times during this tour and is the leader of all time. He also won a record for 12 main senior championships.
“I had no idea that I would never play in America and that I would end up living in America and marrying an American, raising my children here, then winning the biggest tournament in the world, and so on,” said Lange. “Yeah, it's really a fairy tale.”
Advertisement
The reason why Langer calls him who leaves the masters, it is because he said that at 67, he can simply no longer compete with the best of the PGA Tour. The course is too long for him.
But despite that, Langer was not completely released this week. He posted a 2 against 74 Friday, then was 1-Over on Friday-which only came after pushing this putt makable and had to settle with a Bogey Tap-in on the 18th. He ended up just finishing outside the cup line. Although he may be well behind the leaders, he has even more than held on the ground, even against very long strikers.
Although he admitted that he had briefly questioned his decision a few times, Langer thinks that winning a green jacket is again out of the question for him.
“I love golf game, but I like to compete. I am a competitor,” he said. “I want to be in the heat. I want to be in the ranking. I want to have a chance to win.
Advertisement
“On this golf course, I don't think I can win. I may be doing the cup if I play really well, which I played very well today, and I was not rewarded.”
Although Langer can no longer compete in Augusta National, he does not intend to stay away from the course. Not only will he be invited every year for the annual champions dinner, but he said that he and his family were not even going to leave the city right away.
With everyone, they want to dip everything.
“I'm going to spend time with my family and enjoy the tournament,” he said. “We could go out and have lunch. … We won't get bored. It will be a good weekend in both cases. ”
