Bernhard Langer has at all times been a fighter, ever since his childhood in West Germany.
However this week at Carnoustie, the location of the 2024 Senior Open Championship, Langer has a brand new battle on his palms—one which he may battle with, contemplating he ruptured his Achilles on Feb. 1. The 2-time Masters champion must stroll the Scottish hyperlinks, the primary time he’ll hoof a match since he injured himself taking part in pickleball.
“A few of us in America have the ADA, the American Incapacity Act, and I’m on there proper now with my torn Achilles’, and so we get a golf cart in America. Most likely proper now, about eight or ten of us, together with Vijay Singh, Paul Broadhurst, and John Daly, to say a couple of, and most of them didn’t get one right here,” Langer stated.
“However they nonetheless made the journey and can attempt to stroll, despite the fact that it’s painful and tough. A few of us aren’t even certain we are going to make it, to inform you the reality. I haven’t walked 4 occasions 18 holes since final yr, not since my damage. I’ve solely walked 18 holes twice. I’m undecided I can do it, however I hope I can.”
Langer has made six appearances on the PGA Tour Champions because the starting of Could, when he returned from a three-month hiatus following his damage. However in every of these situations, he used a golf cart to assist get round. He has two top-10 finishes inside that span, together with a tie for third on the Principal Charity Traditional in early June.
Langer additionally competed within the BMW Worldwide Open in his native Munich, which marked his ultimate begin on the DP World Tour in 50 years.
“The sport isn’t too dangerous. Simply strolling is an issue. So I could make swings and rotate on my leg,” Langer defined additional.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25545083/2159577255.jpg)
“I can’t apply as a lot as I’d wish to due to the swelling that happens each single day, after which later within the day, it simply will get actually stiff and motionless, you realize, when the ankle swells up, and the foot is tough to maneuver and to stroll. Typically, my swing will get worse because the day goes on. That’s not useful. So, I have to be affected person with that. However so far as it goes, my golf hasn’t been that dangerous contemplating what I’ve been by way of.”
Certainly, Langer’s outcomes have been spectacular since his return. Langer, who received the 2010 Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie, has completed no worse than T-42 this season, which got here on the U.S. Senior Open in Newport, Rhode Island.
However Langer by no means received an Open Championship throughout his heyday. As an alternative, he posted eight high 10s and twice completed runner-up. In 1981, American Invoice Rogers claimed his solely main title with a four-shot victory over Langer at Royal St. George’s. Three years later, in one of many best Open Championships of all time, Langer tied for second with Tom Watson, ending two again of Seve Ballesteros.
Regardless of that, Langer nonetheless has a drive and a spotlight in him that’s second to none.
“It’s undoubtedly one of many highlights each season,” Langer stated.
“Clearly, all of us play to win majors, and that is the one one on this continent. It’s often a part of my calendar if I’m wholesome, and I’m glad to be again right here at Carnoustie.”
Langer is simply wholesome sufficient to play this week, making an attempt to win his fifth Senior Open title. He already has a document of 4, a formidable accomplishment. Nonetheless, if he may by some means pull out a victory this week, it could undoubtedly be essentially the most exceptional win of his profession, given the ache that he has to endure.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By means of. Remember to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
