Bernhard Langer is far from thinking about his golf pension. After his serious injury, the 66-year-old is working intensively on his comeback.
“Apart from the ruptured Achilles tendon, I feel healthy and agile, I’m doing very well,” said Langer in an interview with Welt am Sonntag: “So there’s no reason to stop.”
At the beginning of February, Langer tore his Achilles tendon playing pickleball, a trendy sport that combines elements of badminton, table tennis and tennis.
Langer says he won’t be able to return to the golf course until May or June. The German idol will miss the legendary US Masters in April, where he actually wanted to celebrate his farewell.
It is unclear whether Langer will compete again at the Masters next year. As a winner (1985 and 1993), Langer has a lifelong right to compete. However, the long course at the Augusta National Golf Club is giving him trouble, said Langer: “I’ve always said I’m playing in Augusta to be at the front. If I then only take on an extra role, it will be time to stop.”
In addition to his two Masters successes, Langer can boast numerous other major titles. He won the Ryder Cup six times, plus 42 victories on the European Tour. But in old age, he “no longer needs anything other than the Champions Tour (the senior tour, editor’s note),” explained Langer.