Langer wins his 46th PGA Champions Tour title, breaks Hale Irwin’s record
In an age-defying show of physical and mental resilience, the indefatigable Bernhard Langer, now 65 years old, achieved his 46th PGA Champions Tour victory in the United States, to break not only the record for the maximum victories but many others in the process.
Langer won the 2023 U.S. Senior Open last week for his 46th win on the over 50 circuit, breaking Hale Irwin’s seemingly unbreakable 2006 record of 45 wins. He had a 7 stroke lead on the back nine and eventually won over American Steve Stricker who leads the 2023 Champions Tour money list with 4 victories already this season.
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Langer also picked up the winner’s cheque of US$720,000 out of a total purse of US$ 4 million which takes his Champions Tour career prize money of over US$35 million including 40 runner up and 26 third place finishes, shockingly making the cut in 328 out of 329 tournaments he has played since his debut in 2007 !!
Irwin had set the record about nine months before Langer won his first senior tour event. To put Irwin’s total in perspective, the previous record for wins was 29 by Lee Trevino, the third highest win total on the Champions Tour. In other words, no one but Irwin and Langer has won 30 or more events since they turned 50. To say Langer and Irwin are outliers would be an understatement. Now Langer stands alone at the top of the mountain, simultaneously an example of what is possible and a reminder that his commitment to excellence is rare and exceptional.
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The conventional wisdom has been to win as early as possible on the over-50 circuit, preferably before turning 55 or 56. Unlike the PGA Tour, where players hit their prime in the middle of their careers, on the senior tour, bodies begin to break down once you reach your mid-50s. According to Golf Digest, “they call it hitting the wall”.
That’s been one of Langer’s great advantages. He has worked hard at staying healthy and keeping himself in shape, adapting his training to the requirements of his age. Still, even he didn’t think Irwin’s record was a realistic goal.
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“When I first came out, I was hoping to be one of the top five or top 10 on this tour, which was a reasonable goal,” Langer said in Golf Digest. At the time, he thought Irwin’s record “is not going to be broken for a long, long time.” Langer only began to contemplate the possibility after he won his 40 th tournament in 2019.
Irwin’s record is not the only record Langer broke last week. The German extended his own record for wins over the age of 60 to 13. It was also his fifth win since he turned 64 – a category he occupies all by himself. The previous oldest player to win on the senior tour was American Scott Hoch at 63 years and five months.
In addition, his victory in the Senior U.S. Open gives him 12 senior major championships, breaking his own record of 11. He now has three more than Gary Player and four more than Jack Nicklaus. He is the oldest player to win the U.S. Senior Open, and, of course, the oldest to win a senior major championship. And at 64 he doesn’t appear to be done yet.
“I have my mother who’s going to be 100 on Aug. 4, so I think I have good genes,” Langer said. “Hopefully I’ll be around a few more years.”
Langer’s hallmark is error free consistency despite a somewhat unconventional swing and putting style. To quote his fellow senior tour member Paul Goydos, “Does he do anything better than me? No. He just beats me.”
Credits:-
Photo – Bernhard Langer