At Augusta, Bernhard Langer strikes a blow for old dudes everywhere
AUGUSTA, Ga.—Generally when you're a player of a certain age, you make your way around Augusta National with lots of genial, grateful smiles and waves. You're a past champion—Augusta doesn't let just anyone stick around and play its course—but your best days are usually as far behind you as that old green jacket.
Bernhard Langer wasn't waving to anyone on Saturday. He wasn't even smiling. He walked past the adoring gallery, past the cigar-smoking gents and the sundressed ladies, and his thoughts weren't of retirement. They were of victory.
If you're old, if you know someone who's old, or if you think you might one day grow old ... get yourself in front of a TV on Sunday. Langer, age 58, sits just two strokes back of Jordan Spieth heading into Sunday's final round at the Masters. If he manages to win, and it's not out of the question given how he's playing and how wicked the course is, Langer would be the oldest major winner by 10 years, and would obliterate Jack Nicklaus's record as the oldest Masters winner at age 46.
How's this possible? By playing some steady, sneaky-smart old-dude golf. "I'm probably 40, 50 yards behind some of these big hitters, maybe sometimes only 30, but that's a lot to give up," Langer said after his round. "But there's still other ways of doing it. If you hit it exactly where you want to hit it, you can still shoot under par, and that's what I've been trying to do."
Told he was playing a different game from playing partner Jason Day and others who blast the ball a country mile past Langer, he agreed. "Yeah, we are," he said, then smiled. "But the scorecard doesn't always show it."
The casual golf fan, who tunes in only for the majors or for Sunday at Augusta, might wonder exactly how in the world a guy who won both of his green jackets before Jordan Spieth was even born could possibly be in competition this weekend. Langer, who won in 1985 and 1993, broke it down:
"We're not playing tennis or soccer or football where it all comes down to speed and strength," he said. "Golf is a lot more about knowing yourself and technique. Just thinking your way around the golf course, and then execution."
"I would say I'm surprised, except for doesn't he win most every tournament on the Champions Tour?" Jordan Spieth said after his round. "We watch him all the time on TV and he's a guy that certainly knows how to close, and close here. He's a force to be reckoned with ... from my perspective, you can't think of this as an amazing story or this is [about] his age."
Langer noted that he's got a good chance of being the first Champions Tour-level golfer to win a major, but even if he's not, someone else will be. "Sooner or later, it's going to happen," he said. "One of the over‑50s is going to win a major. We have guys right now, Davis Love, Vijay Singh, Fred Couples, these guys are still long enough to compete on any golf course. It's going to happen sooner or later. The guys are staying fit. They are more athletes. They are taking care of themselves. We see it amongst the young guys, but as they get older they are going to be in better shape. And it's just a matter of time."
That time might just be Sunday.
____
Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
