A few weeks ago, Bernhard Langer announced that the 2024 Masters Tournament will be the last time he would tee off at Augusta National Golf Club. Now, the 66-year-old German professional golfer has announced that he has torn his Achilles tendon and will miss professional golf for some time, putting his last Masters appearance in jeopardy.
It is still unclear what level of injury he has suffered and whether he will be fine before the Masters Tournament in April. In a recent statement released via the PGA Tour, Langer stated,
“I will have surgery [Friday] to repair the injury, which will cause me to miss time playing competitive golf as I recover. Throughout my career, faith and family have been my bedrocks, providing me strength and guiding me through difficult times. I will lean on both as I work towards a return to competition. I appreciate everyone’s support during this time, and I look forward to seeing the fans and my fellow competitors back on the course soon.”
Bernhard Langer was last seen playing on the Champions Tour in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in the second last week of January 2024.
A Look at Bernhard Langer’s Past Masters Performances
The 66-year-old golfer is the first ever World No. 1 ranked player following the establishment of Sony Rankings (now known as Official World Golf Rankings). He is a two-time major winner and both his victories came at the Augusta National.
Bernhard Langer has participated in 40 editions of the prestigious green jacket tournament. His first appearance came back in 1981 where he failed to make the cut. After missing qualifying in 1983’s edition, his second appearance at Augusta National was in 1984, where he finished tied 31 on the leaderboard.
Langer won his first green jacket in his third appearance at the Masters. He shot 6 under 282 to defeat Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd, and Curtis Strange by a margin of two strokes. He was rewarded with a prize money paycheck of $126,00.
Bernhard Langer’s second and final major title at the 1993 Masters Tournament. He shot a brilliant 11 under to defeat Chip Beck by four strokes. His victory fetched him a whopping prize money paycheck of $306,000.
In 40 Masters appearances, the German golfer made it into the weekend’s play 27 times. Including his two victories, he has finished eight times inside the top 10 on the leaderboard. He became the oldest player ever to make the cut in the history of the tournament at the age of 63 in 2020.
Bernhard Langer will be going under surgery to treat his torn Achilles tendon on Friday. It usually takes 6 to 12 weeks to partially recover from a torn Achilles tendon, and the full recovery may take months. Fans can hope that he can recover in time and participate in his farewell Masters Tournament in April 2024.
