After his record-shattering 13-shot victory in the 2014 Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex, German golf legend Bernhard Langer is relishing a return to the world-renowned links of Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in July.
The Senior Open Championship returns to South Wales for this year’s Senior Open from July 27-30, where Langer lifted the Senior Claret Jug for the second time three years ago. The former World Number One remains the dominant force in over-50s golf, having won 34 tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic since 2008, including three Senior Major Championships.
Winner of the Masters Tournament in 1985 and 1993, Langer says his appetite for victory shows no sign of being satiated.
“I haven’t lost the desire,” he said. “I can’t speak for my colleagues, but the guys who are still competing at our age have that fire in their belly. They are true champions. They like to win, otherwise they wouldn’t still be here competing.
“Many Americans have to fly across the pond, and they look forward to it because they love to compete and test themselves against the best in the world.”
Langer’s rounds of 65-66-68-67, which saw him win the 2014 Senior Open by 13 shots from fellow former Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie, were regarded by three-time Senior Open Champion Tom Watson as the best four rounds of golf played anywhere in the world that year.
“It means a lot coming from Tom Watson, who is the links course specialist,” said Langer. “Everything came together that year, I drove the ball extremely well in the conditions we had.
“The fairways were firm and the ball was bouncing a lot. I drove it great. I putted well, making a number of long putts. I didn’t three-putt often, if at all. Combined with a decent iron game, it allowed me to move myself ahead of the field and, in the end, it was a wonderful march down the last few holes with a very comfortable lead.
“Monty played some really good golf himself and, if I hadn’t been there, he would have won the Championship. That kind of form only happens once in a blue moon. I have been fortunate to have that in my career a few times.
“No matter what Tour you play on, or where in the world you play, there’s always competition and you have to distance yourself from the field.
“I would be thrilled to be in the hunt for the Championship coming down the last nine holes and win the trophy, but I doubt anyone is going to win by that margin this year.”
Langer is one of potentially 11 former European and United States Ryder Cup Captains in line to tee it up at the Senior Open Championship, including José María Olazábal, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie and home favourite Ian Woosnam.
Paul Broadhurst, a member of Europe’s 1991 Ryder Cup team, will defend the Senior Claret Jug which he won at Carnoustie last year when the Senior Open returns to the links of Royal Porthcawl, Wales.
Tickets are on sale now and hospitality packages are also available. For tickets and more information, visit www.senioropenchampionship.com or call +44 (0) 800 023 2557.
About Visit Wales
Visit Wales is the Welsh Government’s tourism team. Visitors spend around £14 million a day whilst in Wales, amounting to around £5.1 billion a year. Visit Wales is responsible for formulating tourism policy, encouraging investment in, and improving the quality of the visitor experience in Wales. The team is also responsible for marketing Wales within the UK and internationally. The ambition of the Welsh Government’s tourism strategy for Wales is to grow tourism earnings in Wales by 10% by 2020. The Year of Adventure 2016 was the first in a series of thematic years, and provides focus for product development and the promotion of Wales. 2017 is the Year of Legends, and 2018 will be the Year of the Sea.
Wales is a golf destination with big ambitions. Since 2004, we’ve seen a 64% increase in the volume of golf visitors to Wales, while total related expenditure has risen by 79%These figures show the importance of golf to our economy and that hosting major golfing tournaments has played an important part in raising the profile of Wales as a golf destination.
About the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex
The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex will be played over the world-renowned links of Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, Wales for the second time in 2017.
The Championship has been officially recognised as a ‘Senior Major’ since 2003, when the event owners, the European Tour and The R&A, incorporated the Championship into the schedules of both the European Senior Tour and the PGA TOUR Champions. These organisations are also long time partners with Rolex, as part of the brand’s enduring support of golf, which marks its 50th anniversary in 2017.
Since its inauguration in 1987 at Turnberry in Scotland, the Championship has been hosted by the UK’s most prestigious and challenging courses, and celebrated its 30th edition in 2016 at Carnoustie, Scotland. The event returns to Royal Porthcawl three years after the club became the first Welsh venue to host Europe’s Senior Major, when Rolex Testimonee Bernhard Langer won the Championship for the second time.
