Bernhard Langer’s first Masters start came in 1982. On Friday afternoon of the 2025 Masters, he walked off the 18th green for the final time in his 41st appearance. It was nearly a storybook week for the 67-year-old in his sendoff from Augusta National as a competitor as he remained in the mix for the weekend all the way until his final hole.
Langer posted a 74 in the first round to give himself a chance at the weekend and got back to even par for the tournament when he arrived at the par-5 15th on Friday. He put his third shot into the water short and eventually made a double-bogey 7 to drop him back to 2 over, right on the cut line. That meant he needed to play the final three holes of his second round in even par to see the weekend.
He looked poised to potentially do just that after pars on the 16th and 17th holes. A solid drive into the fairway on the 18th left him 202 yards up the hill for his second, which he tugged left into the patrons, needing an up-and-down to make the weekend. He left his chip about 10 feet short of the cup and slid his par putt just off the right edge to drop to 3 over, outside of the line.
Langer would have needed an immense amount of help to make the weekend as 55 players sat tied at +2 or better as he entered the clubhouse. Still, that Langer could spend 36 holes still challenging the best players in the world to make the weekend at age 67 is a remarkable achievement, especially considering he missed the 2024 Masters due to an Achilles injury.
“It’s a daily battle. It’s not easy to try and be more conservative when you know the leaders are starting to run away from it and you get these little shelves in certain areas and these little fingers that you’ve got to hit the ball into, and you’ve got to hit a cut or a draw. You have to have every shot in the bag,” Langer said after the round.
“It’s just difficult to try to accomplish, I would say, just the goal of just being patient and being understanding. I feel like I’ve done that better over the course of time. But how do I balance it? Man, that’s a great question. I’d say only God knows.”
The 1985 and 1993 Masters champion has pieced together one of the greatest second acts in golf history, dominating PGA Tour Champions for years, so it wasn’t a total shock to see him grind his way to a strong finish in his final Masters. Langher has won a record 47 times on PGA Tour Champions, including a record 12 major victories along with 11 money list wins and nine Player of the Year awards from 2008 to 2021.
Deciding when to stop competing at the Masters is a difficult call for aging champions as no one will make that call for them, and they all adore the chance to play Augusta National in a competitive setting.
Langer ultimately made his decision to avoid sticking around too long and potentially embarrassing himself by playing when he could no longer get around the course. It’s safe to say he more than avoided that fate in his final trip around Augusta National and almost delivered one last bit of Masters magic to extend his final tournament 36 more holes.