From hole-in-ones to healed in three — months, that is. Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters champion, will tee up at the PGA Tour Champions next week after tearing his Achilles tendon in February.
In a statement at the time through the PGA Tour, the 66-year-old said he tore his Achilles tendon “during training exercises.”
Langer later admitted during a March interview on the “Musings on Golf” podcast that his injury came from playing pickleball.
He had announced in January that the 2024 Masters Tournament would be his last. Though Langer did appear at Augusta earlier this month and took part in the proceedings, he did not play.
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On Friday, the PGA Tour Champions announced Langer’s return in the upcoming Insperity Invitational in Houston, Texas, next week, along with a video documenting his recovery process from various walking boots to physical therapy — and citing Aaron Rodgers as inspiration.
“I heard from other athletes who had similar injuries, like Aaron Rodgers,” Langer said in the video. “That encouraged me that I might be able to do something similar.”
Rodgers, the 40-year-old quarterback for the New York Jets, tore his Achilles tendon in the Jets’ season opener last September.
Langer is the current record holder for the PGA Tour Champions, a senior tour for golfers over age 50, with 46 wins. He is the only player to win the tour over age 64 – which he has done four times. Langer won the Masters in 1985 and 1993.
“If I get back to being my best again, even at my age, I still think I’m competitive. And I still think I can win on certain golf courses,” Langer said in the video.