Bernhard Langer will attempt to prove his own predictions right this week when he bids to become the first player over the age of 50 to win a European Tour title.
Langer has dominated senior golf once again this season - in Europe and the United States - but this week he turns his attentions to the Mercedez-Benz Championship at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof near Cologne, a tournament he has won four times in the past, in 1989, 1991, 1997 and 2001.
The German has said it is “definitely possible” that a player over 50 can win on The European Tour, and this season he has already come close to vindicating that statement, posting top ten finishes at the UBS Hong Kong Open and the BMW International Open this season.
A 40-time winner on The European Tour and double Major Champion in a fabulous career, Langer has carried his success into senior golf. Last year he finished top of the US PGA Champions Tour Money List in his first full season, winning three times, and was subsequently named Rookie of the Year. He is well placed to top the Money List again this season as he leads second placed Loren Roberts by nearly $300,000 with six events remaining.
Langer, Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup Captain in 2004, is seventh in the European Senior Tour Order of Merit, helped by a fourth place finish at the Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard, and is confident that his impressive form will eventually be rewarded with a European Tour win. However, he admits it may not come this week as he believes the par 72, 7289-yard course favours big hitters.
“If I play extremely well, I can shoot under par, and we'll see what that leads to,” he said. “But it's definitely a golf course that favours long hitters, there's no doubt about it. I could win on some golf courses, but this one is extremely tough. The long hitters can probably reach all the par fives (in two) and I’m always about 20 yards short so that’s a big disadvantage already.”
But asked whether a senior player will ever win on The European Tour, Langer replied: “Oh, it's definitely possible.”
Langer and compatriot Alex Cejka will spearhead the challenge for a German winner but current Race to Dubai leader Martin Kaymer’s hopes of winning on home soil have been dashed by a foot injury. Swede Robert Karlsson is unable to defend his title as he continues his recover from an eye problem, but the German crowds will be able to watch a strong field in Cologne as the season heads into the final third.
Lee Westwood is aiming to take advantage of the absences of Kaymer and Paul Casey, second on The Race to Dubai Rankings and sidelined with a rib injury, to strengthen his attempt to be Europe’s Number One come the end of the year. And 2007 champion Søren Hansen will join Miguel Angel Jiménez, Ross Fisher, Alvaro Quiros, Trevor Immelman and Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie, the winner here in 1998.
Westwood is excited to be returning to a course where two years ago he shot 61 in the first round, eventually finishing joint sixth.
“Last time I was there I shot 61 in the first round so it is a golf course I like,” he said. “The greens are very true there. I didn’t play last year because I had tonsillitis but it is a great event and there is a nice feel to it as there is no cut. I think having an event like that is good: it is a reward for those players who have done well in the year and are up on The Race to Dubai and it gives the event more of an elite feel.”
The 36 year old took two weeks off after competing in the United States at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and the US PGA Championship, and added: “Hopefully last week has got the rust out of the system – I am still swinging it nicely and I putted a lot better in the final round last week. I was just a bit stale mentally last week and felt a bit out of sorts, but hopefully that’s out of the system.”
