Bernhard Langer

[GoHogs1091]

Langer won the Regions Tradition, which is the 1st Major Championship this season on the PGA Tour Champions.  He won by 6 shots.  With the win today, Langer is only 2 Major Championship wins away from tying Jack Nicklaus' record of 8 Majors on the PGA Tour Champions.

Langer's career puts into perspective that he should be considered as at least a Top 10 player of all-time.

The win today was Langer's 100th professional win.  I don't know how many others have made it to 100 wins as a professional.

In 1986, Langer became Golf's first official number one ranked player in the world.

Along with Gary Player, David Graham, and Hale Irwin, Langer is one of only four players to have won official tournaments on all six continents on which golf is played.

42 European Tour wins

2 time Masters Winner   1985, 1993

2 time European Tour Order of Merit Winner    1981, 1984

2 time European Tour Player of the Year    1985, 1993

5 time Jack Nicklaus Trophy Winner (Champions Tour Player of the Year)    2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015

7 time Arnold Palmer Award Winner (Champions Tour Money List Winner)    2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

4 time Byron Nelson Award Winner (Champions Tour lowest scoring average)    2008, 2009, 2014, 2015

3 time Charles Schwab Cup Winner    2010, 2014, 2015

6 Major Championships on PGA Tour Champions

    2010 Senior Open Champion
    2010 U.S. Senior Open Champion
    2014 Constellation Senior Players Champion
    2014 Senior Open Champion    by 13 shots on a course (Royal Porthcawl) that Tom Watson stated was 4 shots tougher than the
                                                            course where Rory McIlroy won The Open Championship the week before (Royal Liverpool).

    2015 Constellation Senior Players Champion    Langer became the first player since Arnold Palmer (1984–85) to win the
                                                                                        Constellation Senior Players Championship in back-to-back years.
    2016 Regions Tradition

World Golf Hall of Fame Inductee in 2002

Played on 10 Ryder Cup teams    1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002

Was paired with World Number One Ranked, Jason Day, during the 3rd Round of the 2016 Masters, and at age 58 Langer out-shot Day during that 3rd Round Masters pairing.

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).

[onebadrubi]

I bet he couldn't break 80 at southern hills

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Next year's Masters champ.   Book it.

[ricepig]

Next year's Masters champ.   Book it.

Only if they switch the 9's, or they allow Perry to do a little course work.

[hogbud]

Success on sr tour does not matter much otherwise pga tour journeymen like Allen Doyle, Loren Roberts and the Fred Funk's of the world would be considered as "greats"....NOT!!!!

[GoHogs1091]

I bet he couldn't break 80 at southern hills

Here is how Langer has done in the Majors he has played in at Southern Hills.

1994 PGA Championship    73--71--67--72    +3

2001 U.S. Open    71--73--71--74    +9

1 Round under Par (the 3rd Round in 1994).

Langer is not the only one who has had difficulty in Tulsa.  Jack Nicklaus has played a total of 18 Rounds in Majors at Southern Hills, and Nicklaus shot a total of 4 Rounds under Par over the 18 Rounds.

[ricepig]

Here is how Langer has done in the Majors he has played in at Southern Hills.

1994 PGA Championship    73--71--67--72    +3

2001 U.S. Open    71--73--71--74    +9

1 Round under Par (the 3rd Round in 1994).

Langer is not the only one who has had difficulty in Tulsa.  Jack Nicklaus has played a total of 18 Rounds in Majors at Southern Hills, and Nicklaus shot a total of 4 Rounds under Par over the 18 Rounds.

I played a lot better 15-22 years ago, too.

[GoHogs1091]

Success on sr tour does not matter much otherwise pga tour journeymen like Allen Doyle, Loren Roberts and the Fred Funk's of the world would be considered as "greats"....NOT!!!!

Langer's 100 wins as a professional, and his 42 wins on the European Tour ensures his "greatness" stature.

Him winning the Masters twice also helps.

[EastexHawg]

Jack played the Senior Tour in his spare time.  He wasn't out there grinding it out every week like Langer.  He only made 39 starts in his first seven years of eligibility.  28 of those were majors and he won eight of them.  In those 39 overall events he had 17 finishes in the top three. 

But let's go back to just the majors.  In the first place, there are five now.  There were only four when Nicklaus played, so Langer has one more chance per year.  That aside, Jack won 8 of the first 25 majors he played on the Senior/Champions Tour.  Langer has won 6 out of 46.

Just as could be said for their regular PGA tour careers...Bernhard Langer is good, but he couldn't carry Nicklaus' jock. 

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Let's stop for a moment and consider this - if Langer were to be considered a Top 10 of all time player, he'd have to be rated higher than some in this list:

Nicklaus
Woods
Hagen
Hogan
Player
Watson
Sarazen
Palmer
Snead
Jones
Varden

all of whom won 7 or more majors.  Should Langer be considered better than anyone in that group of 11? 

But let's continue with:
Trevino
Faldo
Mickelson
Nelson

I can't Langer pushing out enough names in that list to be considered Top 10 of all time.

You left Garrigus off your list.

[hogbud]

Jack played the Senior Tour in his spare time.  He wasn't out there grinding it out every week like Langer.  He only made 39 starts in his first seven years of eligibility.  He won ten majors in those 39 events and had 17 finishes in the top three. 

Just as could be said for their regular PGA tour careers...Bernhard Langer is good, but he couldn't carry Nicklaus' jock. 

Langer's 100 wins as a professional, and his 42 wins on the European Tour ensures his "greatness" stature.

Him winning the Masters twice also helps.

Langer's 100 wins as a professional, and his 42 wins on the European Tour ensures his "greatness" stature.

Him winning the Masters twice also helps.

Still not top 10 of all-time worthy.

[cosmodrum]

Langer is a GREAT golfer. Hell, anyone with a tour card is a great golfer.

But if we're talking the game's ALL-TIME greats, he's simply not a part of the conversation, and I love the Kraut.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Langer, who certainly had a distinguished career on the PGA Tour, has simply risen to unprecedented levels on the Senior PGA Tour and for judging his accomplishments on the Senior PGA Tour, there simply aren't any applicable precedents (save perhaps Trevino).   

Langer's career pretty much mirrors Hale Irwin's.   Well, except I don't think Langer played defensive back for the Colorado Buffaloes.

[ricepig]

If Langer had to putt with a regular putter, he'd be waaay down the list. Jack, Arnie, and Gary didn't use a broom.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

If Langer had to putt with a regular putter, he'd be waaay down the list. Jack, Arnie, and Gary didn't use a broom.

Yeah, just ask Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson about it.  Haven't heard much from either of those two in awhile.

[EastexHawg]

Hale Irwin won 45 times on the Senior Tour with 7 majors.  Langer has 27 wins with 6 majors.  Let's let Bernhard surpass Irwin before we start bringing Nicklaus into the conversation.

[cosmodrum]

Yeah, just ask Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson about it.  Haven't heard much from either of those two in awhile.

Then there's Adam Scott, who came firing out of the gate this season with a non-anchored flat stick.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Then there's Adam Scott, who came firing out of the gate this season with a non-anchored flat stick.

I think part of the difference there is that Scott used a regular putter for years before going to the long one, so he had considerable experience (and success) with it.  Bradley and Simpson both started using broomsticks early in their careers. 

[cosmodrum]

I think part of the difference there is that Scott used a regular putter for years before going to the long one, so he had considerable experience (and success) with it.  Bradley and Simpson both started using broomsticks early in their careers. 

true

[GolfNut57]

If Langer had to putt with a regular putter, he'd be waaay down the list. Jack, Arnie, and Gary didn't use a broom.

Watching the Senior event this past weekend I could swear Langer is anchoring his putter to his chest but the camera never would give a good angle to look. At least his top hand seems to be REAL close to touching his chest. And if it touches that is considered against the anchor rules. Correct?

[GoHogs1091]

Watching the Senior event this past weekend I could swear Langer is anchoring his putter to his chest but the camera never would give a good angle to look. At least his top hand seems to be REAL close to touching his chest. And if it touches that is considered against the anchor rules. Correct?

He anchors it when he takes a practice stroke.  He has it off of his chest (non-anchored) when he makes the actual putt.

From what I have gathered, he specifically showed Rules Officials what he is doing at the beginning of the Champions Tour season so that they could see what he is doing and to make sure that he isn't doing anything illegal.

[HognitiveDissonance]

I do have a lot of respect for Langer; he is a high-character, clean-livin' guy, and it shows. All those good habits keeps him contending in the Masters at age 57.

[GoHogs1091]

Let's stop for a moment and consider this - if Langer were to be considered a Top 10 of all time player, he'd have to be rated higher than some in this list:

Nicklaus
Woods
Hagen
Hogan
Player
Watson
Sarazen
Palmer
Snead
Jones
Varden

all of whom won 7 or more majors.  Should Langer be considered better than anyone in that group of 11? 

But let's continue with:
Trevino
Faldo
Mickelson
Nelson

I can't see Langer pushing out enough names in that list to be considered Top 10 of all time. 

Number of Majors won is just a part of the picture.  The entire body of work by a player needs to be considered.

Yes, Langer did not win as many Majors as Lee Trevino did, and not as many Majors as Phil Mickelson has.  Langer though has more wins as a Professional (100 wins) than Trevino's number of wins as a Professional (89 wins), and Mickelson's number of wins as a Professional (51 wins).

Also, for consideration purposes, Langer shot a 62 in the final round of the 1984 Spanish Open at El Saler in Valencia, Spain.  Langer went into that final round seven strokes behind the leader, and Langer's 10 under Par 62 enabled him to win by two shots over the 3rd round leader.

A few ex-European Tour players, players that played in the event, and commentators over the years refer to Langer's 62 at El Saler as the best round ever played on the European Tour.

El Saler is considered one of the 60 best courses in the world, and one of the 3 best in Europe.

[Dillar Dog]

Where do you come up with this crap?  Do you actually believe it?

El saler is not and never will be considered a top 3 best course in Europe.  Not even top 20.  Ever.

[GoHogs1091]

Where do you come up with this crap?  Do you actually believe it?

El saler is not and never will be considered a top 3 best course in Europe.  Not even top 20.  Ever.

It says the following on the El Saler Web page (have to scroll down once the page loads).

"The Parador de El Saler (Valencia) golf course is considered one of the 60 best in the world and one of the 3 best in Europe - a view which is vouched for in testimonies from both professional and amateur players, institutions and the specialized press."

http://www.golfenparadores.es/en/paradores/parador-de-el-saler/golf-course

[Dillar Dog]

Of course it does.  It's not true though.

[GoHogs1091]

Of course it does.  It's not true though.

Usually, the courses that are viewed as the 3 best in Europe are Valderrama, Royal Hague (Koninklijke Haagsche) in the Netherlands, and El Saler.

Langer has also shot a 62 at Valderrama.  From the following link (will have to click on the orange "Read more" to read the entire article).

"The German star fired nine birdies and saved par four other times to compile a remarkable bogey-free round over a 6,833-yard course rated the toughest on the Europesn Tour."

http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/1994/10/28/605121000/?v=0

Here is someone who was underwhelmed with Valderrama (the following does have some good pictures).

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49583.msg1121969.html#msg1121969

Royal Hague's site has a good automatic slide show on the home page.

https://www.khgcc.nl/en

Here are some other good photos of Royal Hague.

http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/netherlands/royal-hague/

[Dillar Dog]

FRAT.

Never has been and never will be top 20 in Europe.  Ever.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

I do have a lot of respect for Langer; he is a high-character, clean-livin' guy, and it shows. All those good habits keeps him contending in the Masters at age 57.

Yeah, maybe, but Mr. Burns isn't scared of him..

[GoHogs1091]

FRAT.

Never has been and never will be top 20 in Europe.  Ever.

The following is Golf World Magazine's ranking of El Saler in Europe.

2009     #9
2011   #11
2013   #10
2015   #10

http://www.topgolfcourses.eu

[Dillar Dog]

It's not anywhere near top 10 in Europe and it never will be.  Fact.

Sorry.  It's good but not that good.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Or....

Touch my monkey.

[oldman1015]

It's not anywhere near top 10 in Europe and it never will be.  Fact.

Sorry.  It's good but not that good.

beating head against wall.

[clutch]

The following is Golf World Magazine's ranking of El Saler in Europe.

2009     #9
2011   #11
2013   #10
2015   #10

http://www.topgolfcourses.eu

So you were wrong. It's not usually viewed as top 3.

[GolfNut57]

So you were wrong. It's not usually viewed as top 3.

GoHogs1091 was wrong? gasp.............the hell you say.........

[GoHogs1091]

So you were wrong. It's not usually viewed as top 3.

Golf World Magazine has El Saler ranked too low.  It should be at least ranked Top 5 in Europe.

The guy who has played every one of the Top 100 ranked courses in the world (every one including Augusta National) stated in his write-up of El Saler that El Saler has 3 world-class holes.  He said the 3 world-class holes at El Saler are the Par 5 Third Hole, the Par 4 Eighth Hole, and the Par 3 Seventeenth Hole.

There is not a lot of courses in the world that has 3 world-class holes, which is what El Saler has (and the fact that one is a Par 5, one is a Par 4, and one is a Par 3, makes El Saler an even more of a higher level course).  For instance, Augusta National really only has 2 bona-fide world-class holes, #10 and #13.  Some people want to lump in Augusta National's 12th Hole as being world-class, but that hole is too quirky. 

[ricepig]

Golf World Magazine has El Saler ranked too low.  It should be at least ranked Top 5 in Europe.

The guy who has played every one of the Top 100 ranked courses in the world (every one including Augusta National) stated in his write-up of El Saler that El Saler has 3 world-class holes.  He said the 3 world-class holes at El Saler are the Par 5 Third Hole, the Par 4 Eighth Hole, and the Par 3 Seventeenth Hole.

There is not a lot of courses in the world that has 3 world-class holes, which is what El Saler has (and the fact that one is a Par 5, one is a Par 4, and one is a Par 3, makes El Saler an even more of a higher level course).  For instance, Augusta National really only has 2 bona-fide world-class holes, #10 and #13.  Some people want to lump in Augusta National's 12th Hole as being world-class, but that hole is too quirky. 

So, if I understand it correctly, those writers that agree with your opinion are correct, and those that had different, were wrong? I seem to remember you taking exception to  list in Golf Digest, lol. You know, if I thought this was a serious account, I'd feel sorry for you.

[GoHogs1091]

So, if I understand it correctly, those writers that agree with your opinion are correct, and those that had different, were wrong? I seem to remember you taking exception to  list in Golf Digest, lol. You know, if I thought this was a serious account, I'd feel sorry for you.

In general, Golf World Magazine does a better job with world-wide rankings than does Golf Digest (Golf Digest's Ron Whitten makes some perplexing rankings, especially Whitten's world-wide rankings).

With that said, Golf World Magazine can be off some, and in the case of them having El Saler ranked at around #10 in Europe, they are off with El Saler's ranking.  It should be at least Top 5 in Europe.

[ricepig]

In general, Golf World Magazine does a better job with world-wide rankings than does Golf Digest (Golf Digest's Ron Whitten makes some perplexing rankings, especially Whitten's world-wide rankings).

With that said, Golf World Magazine can be off some, and in the case of them having El Saler ranked at around #10 in Europe, they are off with El Saler's ranking.  It should be at least Top 5 in Europe.

Dude, you've got no idea, lol. Name me one golf course you've designed, better yet, tell me where you got your landscape architecture degree from.

[GoHogs1091]

Dude, you've got no idea, lol. Name me one golf course you've designed, better yet, tell me where you got your landscape architecture degree from.

You certaintly don't have to take my word regarding El Saler if you don't want to.  It is Javier Arana's masterpiece.  One of the key features of Arana's El Saler routing is the ever-present use of triangulation.  No two consecutive holes are oriented in the same direction, so the player must continually adapt his game to the prevailing wind conditions, hole-by-hole.

The guy who has played every one of the Top 100 ranked courses in the world stated that he would most certainly rather play El Saler than either Medinah or the TPC at Sawgrass.

[Dillar Dog]

You certaintly don't have to take my word regarding El Saler if you don't want to.  It is Javier Arana's masterpiece.  One of the key features of Arana's El Saler routing is the ever-present use of triangulation.  No two consecutive holes are oriented in the same direction, so the player must continually adapt his game to the prevailing wind conditions, hole-by-hole.

The guy who has played every one of the Top 100 ranked courses in the world stated that he would most certainly rather play El Saler than either Medinah or the TPC at Sawgrass.

FRAT.

Never has been and never will be a top 20 course in Europe.

[ricepig]

You certaintly don't have to take my word regarding El Saler if you don't want to.  It is Javier Arana's masterpiece.  One of the key features of Arana's El Saler routing is the ever-present use of triangulation.  No two consecutive holes are oriented in the same direction, so the player must continually adapt his game to the prevailing wind conditions, hole-by-hole.

The guy who has played every one of the Top 100 ranked courses in the world stated that he would most certainly rather play El Saler than either Medinah or the TPC at Sawgrass.

Sure, but he just wanted to visit Spain and drink some Sangria.

[GoHogs1091]

Pretty cool drone camera video of El Saler.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/102235877[/vimeo]

[clutch]

Whoa there big fella!

Carnoustie calls you!
Royal County Down?
St. Andrews?

He's saying El Saler isn't one of the top 20 courses in Europe, not that there aren't any top 20 courses in Europe.

[clutch]

So, if I understand it correctly, those writers that agree with your opinion are correct, and those that had different, were wrong? I seem to remember you taking exception to  list in Golf Digest, lol. You know, if I thought this was a serious account, I'd feel sorry for you.

I used to think it was a troll account, but now I'm not so sure. If it is, somebody has put some serious time into trolling. There's no way I'd do that much research on every post just to troll people.

You nailed the first part though. Writers that disagree with him are wrong..... always.

[clutch]

Sorry, all.  The lack of caffeine isn't helping me today. 

Been there before.

[GolfNut57]

You nailed the first part though. Writers that disagree with him are wrong..... always.

So are the posters. 

[GoHogs1091]

Here is a video of Langer last Sunday giving some good tips about driving keys to hit more fairways after he won the Regions Tradition.

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/langers-driving-keys-hit-more-fairways/?cid=golfchannel_block_instruction_position_7_video_content_type_headline

[PonderinHog]

Molder > Langer

[PonderinHog]

Now you're just prodding the cobra...

I shoulda checked the leader board first.