Less than a month ago Bernhard Langer was in contention at the Masters, despite being more than three decades older than most of his competition.
Thursday Langer, twice a Masters winner, announced he was coming back to Calgary for the Shaw Charity Classic. Langer last played in Calgary in 2014 and joins golf legend Tom Watson, who was announced recently, as two of the big early names who will tee it up in the tournament.
Langer is one of the most successful Champions Tour players in history, having won 26 times including five senior majors titles: 2015 Constellation Senior Players Championship, Constellation Senior Players Championship, and The Senior Open Championship in 2011, along with both the U.S. Senior Open and The Senior Open Championship in 2010.
At 58, Langer says the quality of play on the Champions Tour is underrated, and as a reference he points out the great players who haven’t managed the success many expected from them after they hit the half century mark.
READ MORE: Golf legend Tom Watson comes to Shaw Charity Classic
“Take a player like Vijay Singh who has played a bunch of events and hasn’t won or Davis Love, who hasn’t won, or even one of the most competitive players in history, Corey Pavin, who has only won once,” says Langer. “Or player like Ben Crenshaw—how many has he won? It is simple—these are great players who have been great for many years and they know how to win. And there are only 81 players out here each week and it is very competitive because of the numbers. You have thousands of over-50 players out there and only the best of the best will win.”
Langer is one of a handful of golfers who have continued to excel on both the regular tours and the Champions Tour well after their 50th birthday. Two years ago, when he first appeared in Calgary for the Shaw Charity Classic, he was being tipped as a potential pick for the Ryder Cup. It didn’t happen, but Langer has a sense of why he’s remained at the top of his game when others witness their skills decline.
“People point to my fittest, but I’m not the fittest guy on the Champions Tour. There are guys who are in better shape,” he says. “Fitness is part of it, but you need a great game, a great short game and a mental attitude to succeed. I still love to compete and I think my technique has gotten better over the years.”
As for the Masters, Langer started the final round in striking distance of Jordan Spieth, 26 years his junior. Langer knew he’d have to go low out of the gate, and that led to some untimely errors. He finished in a tie for 24th.
“I certainly believed I could win, though I knew I was the underdog of all the guys out there,” he says. “And I was starting behind and I knew I had to have an incredible round on Sunday—maybe five-under or better—and to do that I had to be extremely aggressive and because I’m shorter than the other guys, I’m coming in with longer clubs.”
But his struggles in the final round doesn’t mean Langer is any closer to hanging it up. The game still interests him and there’s no end in sight.
Last year he couldn’t make it to Calgary because of scheduling challenges. But he’s keen on returning to the city this year when the tournament starts at the end of August.
“This year it fits in again and I look forward to visiting,” Langer said. “I really enjoyed it two years ago. It was a great venue, a beautiful place and the people were terrific.”
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