Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer (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 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986.

Life and work

Langer was born in Anhausen near Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. He turned professional in 1976 and has won many events in Europe and the United States, among them The Masters in 1985 and 1993. He was the inaugural World Number 1 when the Official World Golf Rankings were introduced in 1986, and he became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. He ranks second in career wins on the European Tour, with forty and has also played regularly on the U.S. based PGA Tour, especially in the late 1980s and since 2000. He has shown great durability, finishing in a tie for fifth at The Open Championship the month before his forty-eighth birthday and regaining a place in the top hundred of the rankings three months before his fiftieth birthday. He played on 10 Ryder Cup teams (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002) and was non-playing captain of the victorious European team in 2004.

Through much of his career, Langer has battled the "yips", a term used to denote a strong tendency to flinch or twitch during putting . He has changed his grip on the putter numerous times in an attempt to cure this problem; while he has been mostly successful, this tendency has colored his career. Langer is remembered nearly as much for one particular missed putt as he is for his titles. 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. Langer is known to be a devout Christian.

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 (OBE).

Professional wins (78)

European Tour wins (42)

*Langer and Montgomerie agreed to share the 2002 Volvo Masters Andalucia after failing light caused play to halt after 2 holes of a playoff.

PGA Tour wins (3)

Other wins (26)

  • 1974 German National Open Championship (as an amateur)
  • 1975 German National Open Championship
  • 1977 German National Open Championship
  • 1979 German National Open Championship, Cacharel Under-25s Championship (by 17 strokes)
  • 1980 Colombian Open
  • 1983 Casio World Open (Japan Golf Tour), Johnnie Walker Tournament
  • 1984 German National Open Championship
  • 1985 Australian Masters, German National Open Championship, Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
  • 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, Hong Kong Open, Sun City Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
  • 1992 German National Open Championship
  • 1996 Alfred Dunhill Masters (Hong Kong)
  • 1997 Argentine Masters
  • 2005 MBNA WorldPoints Father/Son Challenge (with son Stefan)
  • 2006 Del Webb Father/Son Challenge (with son Stefan), WGC-World Cup (with Marcel Siem)

Champions Tour wins (8)

European Seniors Tour (1)

  • 2008 Casa Serena Open

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Champions Tour major results

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for a win. Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

  • Ryder Cup: 1981, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1989 (tied - retained trophy), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 1997 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2004 (non-playing captain - winners)
  • World Cup (representing Germany): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1990 (winners), 1991, 1992, 1993 (individual winner), 1994, 1995, 1996, 2006 (winners)
  • Alfred Dunhill Cup: 1992, 1994, 2000
  • Four Tours World Championship: 1985 (captain), 1986 (captain), 1987 (captain), 1989 (captain), 1990
  • Hennessy Cognac Cup: 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982 (captain)
  • Seve Trophy: 2000 (winners)
  • UBS Cup: 2001, 2002

See also

  • Golfers with most European Tour wins
  • List of World Number One male golfers

References

  1. ^ James Wagner - Are the yips more than something in the head?
  2. ^ "Honorary OBE Awarded to Bernard Langer". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. January 11, 2006 . http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/press-release/2006/01/fco_npr_110106_langeraward . Retrieved 2009-02-09 .  

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