AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bernhard Langer knows he’s played in the Masters Tournament a long time when he takes a look the field for the 87th Masters Tournament.
There’s not a single player teeing it up in Thursday’s first round who played in the 1982 Masters, when Langer made his debut.
At 65, he’s the oldest player in the field, five-plus months older than fellow European Sandy Lyle.
After qualifying for the 1982 Masters by leading the 1981 European Tour money list, Langer didn’t make it back for 1983. He returned in 1984, and earned his first victory here in 1985. With that came a lifetime invitation and his health has allowed him to play in every Masters since, winning again in 1993, which marked the last time the champion played a persimmon driver.
That means this is Masters No. 40 for Germany’s greatest golfer.
“It’s hard to believe how time flies when you’re having fun,” Langer said this week while sitting on the veranda of the Augusta National clubhouse after a practice round. “When you look around, everybody’s moving on, right? We’re all getting older. But it’s hard to believe it’s been that long. But’s it’s great, it’s fun.”
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Langer doesn’t remember much about his Masters debut, other than the fact he had 11 three-putt greens while shooting 77-78. Still, he missed the cut by just a shot.
“The greens were so fast,” Langer said. “I had never played fast greens like these because I’d never played a U.S. Open. I’d played the British Open several times, but the greens aren’t fast at the British Open. It was an eye-opener but I immediately embraced and loved it even though I didn’t play very well.”
In addition to his two Masters victories in 1985 and 1993, Langer had one other win on the PGA Tour, at the Heritage the week after his 1985 Masters victory.
Bernhard Langer at the 1984 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: The Augusta Chronicle)
It has been on the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions where he has really excelled, starting in 2007.
By the end of the 2015 season, Langer had 25 tour wins but Hale Irwin’s career record of 45 looked unreachable.
“It seemed that way,” Langer said.
But he kept chipping away, picking up four wins in 2016, seven in 2017 and two each in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. He did not win in 2021.
He tied Irwin’s mark on Feb. 19, 2023, in the Chubb Classic, his third start this season.
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