Bernhard Langer won seven times last year on the PGA Tour Champions, including three majors and a seventh Player of the Year Honors. He turned 60 just a few weeks ago, and at an age where most people begin thinking retirement, Langer has no intention of slowing down.
“I look at it that I was one of the dominant players between 50 and 55 and one of the dominant players between 55 and 60, and if I could do that, why shouldn’t I be one of the dominant players when I’m 61 or 62,” Langer said Wednesday ahead of the Boca Raton Championship presented by Sallyport. “The golf ball doesn’t know whether I’m 60 or 62.”
While he can’t quite get out there and have the same practice routine as in his younger days, he says not much as changed as he’s gotten older, which is probably why he’s been able to continue to win so consistently.
“I have not changed anything,” he said. “I’m working out, I’m stretching a lot. I can’t beat balls like I did in my teens and 20s and 30s, the body doesn’t want to do that any longer, it gets sore, so I have to be focused when I do practice because I know I can’t be out there for eight hours on the range hitting one ball after another.”
Langer enters the week just nine wins behind Hale Irwin’s all-time mark of 45. Despite the home game though, he has only one once in Boca in the 11 times he has won the event.
“There’s always frustration when you don’t win,” Langer said. “I’ve had a couple of close shaves and sometimes I just didn’t play well enough or didn’t putt well enough.”
Despite his struggles, he knows what it will ultimately take to win the event.
“This course certainly favors a good ball striker,” Langer said. “This course can grab you on any given hole. There’s a lot of water in play and almost every green is elevated, so if you miss the green, the ball runs off and you’re chipping into the grain from a tight lie. I’m convinced the guys that win here, they’re very good ball strikers.”