Life and work

Langer was born in the village of Anhausen, which today is a part of Diedorf municipality, near Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. He turned professional in 1972 and has won many events in Europe and the United States, including The Masters in 1985 and 1993. He was the inaugural World Number 1 when the Official World Golf Rankings were introduced in 1986. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 (but deferred his induction until 2002). He ranks second in career wins on the European Tour (40) and has also played regularly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, especially in the late 1980s and since 2000. He finished in a tie for fifth at The Open Championship the month before he turned 48, and regained a ranking in the top 100 three months before he turned 50. Along with Gary Player, David Graham and Hale Irwin, Langer is one of only four players to have won official tournaments on all six continents on which golf is played. He played on 10 Ryder Cup teams (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002) and was the non-playing captain of the victorious European team in 2004.

Langer has battled the yips, having a strong tendency to flinch or twitch during putting. He has changed his putter grip numerous times in an attempt to cure the problem. In the 1991 Ryder Cup, Langer missed a five-foot putt that would have tied the Ryder Cup and allowed the European team to retain the trophy.

Langer has been married to his American wife Vikki Carol since 1984. They have four children: Jackie, Stefan, Christina, and Jason. They maintain homes in Langer's birthplace of Anhausen and in Boca Raton, Florida. Langer is known to be a devout Christian.

In 2006, in recognition of his contribution to the sport of golf, Langer was appointed as an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE).

In 2015, Langer became the first player since Arnold Palmer (1984-85) to win the Constellation Senior Players Championship in back-to-back years. It was also the last year that Langer was allowed to use the anchor putter, which the USGA banned effective 1 January 2016. At the 2016 Masters, Langer was in the second to last group in the final round only two shots back, but fell to a tie for 24th.

Professional wins (100)

European Tour wins (42)

Legend

Major championships (2)

Other European Tour (40)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	4 Oct 1980	Dunlop Masters	−14 (70-65-67-68=270)	5 strokes	Brian Barnes
2	2 Aug 1981	German Open	−12 (67-69-64-72=272)	1 stroke	Tony Jacklin
3	27 Sep 1981	Bob Hope British Classic	−16 (67-65-68=200)	5 strokes	Peter Oosterhuis
4	1 Aug 1982	Lufthansa German Open	−9 (73-71-69-66=279)	Playoff	Bill Longmuir
5	1 May 1983	Italian Open	−17 (67-69-67-68=271)	Playoff	Seve Ballesteros, Ken Brown
6	26 Jun 1983	Glasgow Golf Classic	−6 (70-66-66-72=274)	1 stroke	Vicente Fernández
7	18 Sep 1983	St. Mellion Timeshare TPC	−11 (69-68-66-66=269)	2 strokes	Paul Way
8	20 May 1984	Peugeot Open de France	−18 (68-71-67-64=270)	1 stroke	José Rivero
9	19 Jul 1984	KLM Dutch Open	−13 (64-68-69=74=275)	4 strokes	Graham Marsh
10	5 Aug 1984	Carroll's Irish Open	−21 (68-66-67-66=267)	4 strokes	Mark James
11	14 Oct 1984	Benson & Hedges Spanish Open	−13 (73-68-72-62=275)	2 strokes	Howard Clark
12	14 Apr 1985	Masters Tournament	−6 (72-74-68-68=282)	2 strokes	Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd, Curtis Strange
13	24 Aug 1985	Lufthansa German Open	−27 (61-60-62=183)	7 strokes	Michael McLean, Mark McNulty
14	1 Sep 1985	Panasonic European Open	−11 (66-72-64-67=269)	3 strokes	John O'Leary
15	31 Aug 1986	German Open	−15 (75-65-66-67=273)	Playoff	Rodger Davis
16	19 Oct 1986	Lancome Trophy	−14 (67-69-68-70=274)	Shared	Seve Ballesteros
17	25 May 1987	Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship	−18 (66-69-68-67=270)	4 strokes	Seve Ballesteros
18	5 Jul 1987	Carroll's Irish Open	−19 (67-68-66-68=269)	10 strokes	Sandy Lyle
19	8 May 1988	Epson Grand Prix of Europe	4 & 3		Mark McNulty
20	30 Apr 1989	Peugeot Spanish Open	−7 (70-72-67-72=281)	3 strokes	José Maria Cañizares, Paul Carrigill
21	8 Oct 1989	German Masters	−12 (67-71-70-68=276)	1 stroke	José María Olazábal, Payne Stewart
22	22 Apr 1990	Cepsa Madrid Open	−18 (70-67-66-67=270)	1 stroke	Rodger Davis
23	14 Oct 1990	Austrian Open	−17 (65-66-72-68=271)	Playoff	Lanny Wadkins
24	21 Apr 1991	Benson & Hedges International Open	−2 (73-68-75-70=286)	2 strokes	Vijay Singh
25	6 Oct 1991	Mercedes German Masters	−13 (68-72-67-68=275)	Playoff	Rodger Davis
26	26 Jul 1992	Heineken Dutch Open	−11 (68-68-69-72=277)	Playoff	Gordon Brand Jnr
27	11 Oct 1992	Honda Open	−15 (69-65-70-69=273)	3 strokes	Darren Clarke
28	11 Apr 1993	Masters Tournament	−11 (68-70-69-70=277)	4 strokes	Chip Beck
29	31 May 1993	Volvo PGA Championship	−14 (70-69-67-68=274)	6 strokes	Gordon Brand Jnr, Colin Montgomerie, Frank Nobilo
30	29 Aug 1993	Volvo German Open	−19 (65-68-70-66=269)	5 strokes	Robert Allenby, Peter Baker
31	3 Jul 1994	Murphy's Irish Open	−13 (70-68-70-67=275)	1 stroke	Robert Allenby, John Daly
32	30 Oct 1994	Volvo Masters	−8 (71-62-73-70=276)	1 stroke	Seve Ballesteros, Vijay Singh
33	29 May 1995	Volvo PGA Championship	−9 (67-73-68-71=279)	1 stroke	Michael Campbell, Per-Ulrik Johansson
34	11 Jun 1995	Deutsche Bank Open TPC of Europe	−18 (67-66-68-69=270)	6 strokes	Jamie Spence
35	1 Oct 1995	Smurfit European Open	−8 (74-70-68-68=280)	Playoff	Barry Lane
36	4 May 1997	Conte Of Florence Italian Open	−15 (71-69-69-64=273)	1 stroke	José María Olazábal
37	11 May 1997	Benson & Hedges International Open	−12 (70-66-71-69=276)	2 strokes	Ian Woosnam
38	10 Aug 1997	Chemapol Trophy Czech Open	−20 (70-67-64-63=264)	4 strokes	Niclas Fasth, Ignacio Garrido, Miguel Ángel Jiménez
39	5 Oct 1997	Linde German Masters	−21 (68-69-60-70=267)	6 strokes	Colin Montgomerie
40	29 Jul 2001	The TNT Open	−15 (69-67-67-66=269)	Playoff	Warren Bennett
41	7 Oct 2001	Linde German Masters	−22 (67-64-68-67=266)	1 stroke	John Daly, Fredrik Jacobson
42	10 Nov 2002	Volvo Masters Andalucia	−3 (71-71-72-67=281)	Shared*	Colin Montgomerie

* Langer and Montgomerie agreed to share the 2002 Volvo Masters Andalucia after failing light caused play to halt after 2 holes of a playoff.

European Tour playoff record (8-6-2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1982	Sun Alliance PGA Championship	Tony Jacklin	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2	1982	Lufthansa German Open	Bill Longmuir	Won with par on first extra hole
3	1983	Italian Open	Seve Ballesteros, Ken Brown	Won with birdie on second extra hole Ballesteros eliminated with par on first hole
4	1985	Carroll's Irish Open	Seve Ballesteros	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5	1986	German Open	Rodger Davis	Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
6	1986	Lancome Trophy	Seve Ballesteros	Playoff abandoned after four holes due to darkness; tournament shared
7	1987	German Masters	Sandy Lyle	Lost to par on second extra hole
8	1990	Peugeot Open de France	Philip Walton	Lost to par on second extra hole
9	1990	Austrian Open	Lanny Wadkins	Won with birdie on third extra hole
10	1991	Mercedes German Masters	Rodger Davis	Won with par on first extra hole
11	1992	Heineken Dutch Open	Gordon Brand Jnr	Won with par on first extra hole
12	1992	BMW International Open	Paul Azinger, Glen Day, Anders Forsbrand, Mark James	Azinger won with birdie on first extra hole
13	1995	Smurfit European Open	Barry Lane	Won with birdie on second extra hole
14	1996	Peugeot Open de France	Robert Allenby	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
15	2001	The TNT Open	Warren Bennett	Won with par on first extra hole
16	2002	Volvo Masters Andalucia	Colin Montgomerie	Playoff abandoned after two holes due to darkness; tournament shared

PGA Tour wins (3)

Legend

Major championships (2)

Other PGA Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	14 Apr 1985	Masters Tournament	−6 (72-74-68-68=282)	2 strokes	Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd, Curtis Strange
2	21 Apr 1985	Sea Pines Heritage	−11 (68-66-69-70=273)	Playoff	Bobby Wadkins
3	11 Apr 1993	Masters Tournament	−11 (68-70-69-70=277)	4 strokes	Chip Beck

PGA Tour playoff record (1-2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1985	Sea Pines Heritage	Bobby Wadkins	Won with par on first extra hole
2	1986	Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open	Bob Tway	Lost to par on second extra hole
3	2007	Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial	Jim Furyk, Rory Sabbatini	Sabbatini won with birdie on the first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

• 1983 Casio World Open

Other wins (27)

• 1974 German National Open Championship
• 1975 German National Open Championship
• 1977 German National Open Championship
• 1979 German National Open Championship, Cacharel Under-25s Championship (by 17 strokes)
• 1980 Colombian Open
• 1983 Johnnie Walker Tournament
• 1984 German National Open Championship
• 1985 Australian Masters, German National Open Championship, Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
• 1986 German National Open Championship
• 1987 German National Open Championship
• 1988 German National Open Championship
• 1989 German National Open Championship
• 1990 German National Open Championship,
• 1991 German National Open Championship, Hong Kong Open, Sun City Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
• 1992 German National Open Championship
• 1993 World Cup of Golf (individual champion)
• 1996 Alfred Dunhill Masters (Hong Kong)
• 1997 Argentine Masters
• 2005 MBNA WorldPoints Father/Son Challenge (with son Stefan)
• 2006 Del Webb Father/Son Challenge (with son Stefan), WGC-World Cup (with Marcel Siem)
• 2014 PNC Father Son Challenge (with son Jason)

Champions Tour wins (27)

Legend

Senior major championships (6)

Other Champions Tour (21)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	14 Oct 2007	Administaff Small Business Classic	−25 (62-65-64=191)	8 strokes	Mark O'Meara
2	7 Mar 2008	Toshiba Classic	−14 (65-65-69=199)	Playoff	Jay Haas
3	30 Mar 2008	Ginn Championship Hammock Beach Resort	−12 (67-66-71=204)	8 strokes	Lonnie Nielsen, Tim Simpson
4	19 Oct 2008	Administaff Small Business Classic	−12 (68-67-69=204)	2 strokes	Lonnie Nielsen
5	25 Jan 2009	Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai	−18 (64-66-68=198)	1 stroke	Andy Bean
6	26 Apr 2009	Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Tom Lehman)	−27 (61-66-62=189)	Playoff	Jeff Sluman and Craig Stadler
7	7 Jun 2009	Triton Financial Classic	−15 (65-69-67=201)	6 strokes	Mark O'Meara
8	12 Jul 2009	3M Championship	−16 (67-68-65=200)	1 stroke	Andy Bean
9	21 Feb 2010	Allianz Championship	−17 (67-65-67=199)	Playoff	John Cook
10	18 Apr 2010	Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am*	−9 (67-66=133)	1 stroke	Mark O'Meara, Mike Reid
11	25 Jul 2010	The Senior Open Championship	−5 (67-71-69-72=279)	1 stroke	Corey Pavin
12	1 Aug 2010	U.S. Senior Open	−8 (69-68-68-67=272)	3 strokes	Fred Couples
13	29 Aug 2010	Boeing Classic	−18 (66-63-69=198)	3 strokes	Nick Price
14	20 Feb 2011	The ACE Group Classic	−18 (64-66-66=196)	4 strokes	Fred Funk
15	5 Aug 2012	3M Championship	−18 (67-69-62=198)	2 strokes	David Peoples
16	7 Oct 2012	SAS Championship	−13 (68-72-63=203)	2 strokes	Jay Don Blake
17	17 Feb 2013	ACE Group Classic	−12 (62-70-72=204)	1 stroke	Jay Don Blake
18	21 Apr 2013	Greater Gwinnett Championship	−10 (73-66-67=206)	3 strokes	Tom Lehman, Tom Pernice, Jr.
19	19 Jan 2014	Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai	−22 (66-64-64=194)	3 strokes	Fred Couples, Jeff Sluman
20	4 May 2014	Insperity Invitational	−11 (66-68-71=205)	1 stroke	Fred Couples
21	29 Jun 2014	Constellation Senior Players Championship	−15 (65-64-66-70=265)	Playoff	Jeff Sluman
22	27 Jul 2014	The Senior Open Championship	−18 (65-66-68-67=266)	13 strokes	Colin Montgomerie
23	17 Aug 2014	Dick's Sporting Goods Open	−16 (67-67-66=200)	1 stroke	Woody Austin, Mark O'Meara
24	14 Jun 2015	Constellation Senior Players Championship	−19 (65-65-67-68=265)	6 strokes	Kirk Triplett
25	18 Oct 2015	San Antonio Championship	−12 (71-68-65=204)	3 strokes	Scott Dunlap
26	14 Feb 2016	Chubb Classic	−15 (62-66-73=201)	3 strokes	Fred Couples
27	22 May 2016	Regions Tradition	−17 (66-69-69-67=271)	6 strokes	Olin Browne

* Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Champions Tour playoff record (4-4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2008	Toshiba Classic	Jay Haas	Won with birdie on seventh extra hole
2	2009	Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf with Tom Lehman	Jeff Sluman & Craig Stadler	Won with par on second extra hole
3	2010	Allianz Championship	John Cook	Won with eagle on first extra hole
4	2012	AT&T Championship	David Frost	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5	2013	The Senior Open Championship	Mark Wiebe	Lost to par on fifth extra hole
6	2013	AT&T Championship	Kenny Perry	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
7	2014	Constellation Senior Players Championship	Jeff Sluman	Won with birdie on second extra hole
8	2015	Charles Schwab Cup Championship	Billy Andrade	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

European Seniors Tour wins (4)

Legend

Senior major championships (3)

Other European Seniors Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	7 Sep 2008	Casa Serena Open	−12 (67-67-67=201)	3 strokes	Ian Woosnam
2	25 Jul 2010	The Senior Open Championship	−5 (67-71-69-72=279)	1 stroke	Corey Pavin
3	1 Aug 2010	U.S. Senior Open*	−8 (69-68-68-67=272)	3 strokes	Fred Couples
4	27 Jul 2014	The Senior Open Championship	−18 (65-66-68-67=266)	13 strokes	Colin Montgomerie

* The U.S. Senior Open is an unofficial money event on the European Seniors Tour.

Other senior wins (1)

• 2012 Nedbank Champions Challenge

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1985	Masters Tournament	2 shot deficit	−6 (72-74-68-68=282)	2 strokes	Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd, Curtis Strange
1993	Masters Tournament	4 shot lead	−11 (68-70-69-70=277)	4 strokes	Chip Beck

Results timeline

Tournament	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	CUT	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	T31	1	T16	T7	T9	T26
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	T8	T4	CUT	T59
The Open Championship	T51	2	T13	T56	T2	T3	T3	T17	69	80
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T32	CUT	T21	CUT	T61

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	T7	T32	T31	1	T25	T31	T36	T7	T39	T11
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	T23	CUT	T23	T36	DQ	CUT	CUT	DNP
The Open Championship	T48	T9	T59	3	T60	T24	WD	T38	CUT	T18
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	T40	CUT	T25	DNP	76	T23	DNP	T61

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Masters Tournament	T28	T6	T32	CUT	T4	T20	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	CUT	T40	T35	T42	DNP	T33	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T11	T3	T28	CUT	DNP	T5	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T46	CUT	T23	T57	T66	T47	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Masters Tournament	CUT	DNP	CUT	T25	T8	CUT	T24
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	T78
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	2	0	0	3	9	15	33	24
U.S. Open	0	0	0	1	2	4	20	10
The Open Championship	0	2	4	7	8	13	30	23
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	0	4	20	13
Totals	2	2	4	11	19	36	103	70

• Most consecutive cuts made - 8 (1994 Masters - 1996 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 2 (three times)

Senior major championships

Wins (6)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2010	The Senior Open Championship	3 shot lead	−5 (67-71-69-72=279)	1 stroke	Corey Pavin
2010	U.S. Senior Open	Tied for the lead	−8 (69-68-68-67=272)	3 strokes	Fred Couples
2014	Constellation Senior Players Championship	3 shot lead	−15 (65-64-66-70=265)	Playoff	Jeff Sluman
2014	The Senior Open Championship	8 shot lead	−18 (65-66-68-67=266)	13 strokes	Colin Montgomerie
2015	Constellation Senior Players Championship	8 shot lead	−19 (65-65-67-68=265)	6 strokes	Kirk Triplett
2016	Regions Tradition	4 shot lead	−17 (66-69-69-67=271)	6 strokes	Olin Browne

Senior results timeline

Results are not in chronological order before 2016.

Tournament	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
The Tradition	DNP	T7	T17	T10	DNP	T2	T10	T9	T5	1
Senior PGA Championship	DNP	2	T17	T23	DNP	T4	T13	T3	6
Senior Players Championship	T13	T7	T5	T9	T6	DNP	8	1	1
The Senior Open Championship	DNP	4	4	1	T12	T6	2	1	2
U.S. Senior Open	DNP	T6	T22	1	T9	T2	T14	T9	T3

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for a win. Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

• World Cup (representing Germany): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1990 (winners), 1991, 1992, 1993 (individual winner), 1994, 1996, 2006 (winners)
• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1981, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1989 (tied - retained trophy), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 1997 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2004 (non-playing captain - winners)
• Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing the Continent of Europe): 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982 (captain)
• Four Tours World Championship: 1985 (captain), 1986 (captain), 1987 (captain), 1989 (captain), 1990
• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Germany): 1992, 1994, 2000
• Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2000 (winners)
• UBS Cup (Rest of the World team): 2001, 2002

[ Source: Wikipedia ]