Bernhard Langer was fighting back the tears during his pre-Masters press conference ahead of his 41st and final appearance at Augusta National his week.
The 67-year-old who still seems evergreen, winning as recently as December at the PNC Championship alongside his son Jason – admits that he has been beaten by Augusta National’s length and it is time to call it a day after the 89th edition of the Masters.
Langer won two green jackets during a sensational career and would have made his final Masters appearance last year but had to delay his farewell after an achilles injury.
“It’s very emotional,” Langer said after highlights of his two wins were played in the press room.
“You can tell already my voice is breaking a bit just realising it’s going to be my last competitive Masters.
“After four decades, it’s going to be bittersweet. I think I knew it was time to call it quits as a player. I wanted to do it last year but I couldn’t with my Achilles surgery.
“The course is just getting too long and I’m getting shorter and shorter and I’m hitting hybrids where the other kids are hitting nine irons and eight irons, maybe even wedges. So I knew I wasn’t going to be in contention anymore.
“A few years back I asked the chairman of the club, is there a time limit? Do we age out when we’re 60? Or what is it? He said, no, you will know when it’s time to quit. It’s totally up to you.
“It is time to quit. I’m just not competitive on this course anymore. We’re playing, what, 7,500-plus yards, and I’m used to playing courses around 7,100. I can still compete there but not at this distance.”
The German who resides in Florida with his family, knows how emotional the Masters retirees can become after seeking out Larry Mize for advice on how to handle the occasion.
“He gave a little speech at the Champions Dinner, and he just broke down,” Langer recalled. “He just couldn’t say what he wanted to say. It was just overwhelming and too much for him.
“He said, ‘yeah, I totally screwed up’. I said, ‘no you didn’t, it was just showing how much it meant to you, but it was probably even far more important for you because you grew up here in Augusta. You’re a local boy, local hero’.
“I’m from Germany, and it means a great deal for me, too, living in Florida now and having married an American and raised my kids in this country and all that. It’s never easy, not for any of us.”
During the course of his Masters career, Langer made thirty-five starts, registered nine top-10 finishes, two victories and as recently as 2014 was tied 8th.
