The German golfer, who won two Masters titles between 1985 and 1993, will never walk the fairways of Augusta National as a professional athlete again
Bernhard Langer won’t return to Augusta National(Image: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Bernhard Langer will not be playing at the Masters in April as he continues to struggle with serious health issues. The German golfer admitted that “walking is still difficult” before he played his final round at Augusta National in 2025.
The 68-year-old turned professional in 1972 and still takes to the fairways to this day. Langer secured his first Masters in 1985 by two strokes and won his second green jacket in 1993 with a four-shot lead over Chip Beck.
Speaking before his final Masters appearance last year, the veteran golfer admitted a Achilles tendon tear in 2024 damaged his season and continues to affect him. He said: “So I’m not going in there with a mindset of winning anymore, that train has passed.
“But trying to still perform and show some good shots and hopefully be there on the weekend. To get back to where I was and I always thought I would come back, it was just a matter of when and how.”
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Discussing his struggles on the course, Langer added: “So it was a long and tough process. It still is. I’m not 100 percent and maybe I never will be, but walking is still difficult. So I’ve been riding a cart for the most part – well, walking 18 holes.
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“I can walk, I’m okay walking nine holes, but then I get a little fatigued and stiff and all that kind of stuff. It’s still a process trying to get better in that department. I’m hoping to play great, and I have to play great to make the cut because the course is so long for me that nothing but great will do it.
“I’m coming in with two and three-irons where the other guys are hitting nine-irons, on every hole, and that’s just hard to compete.”
Sadly, Langer was cut in 2025 and will not compete this year. The last time he made the final round of golfers was in 2020, where he came tied in 29th place.
Langer is ‘struggling to walk'(Image: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Langer’s health continues to be a struggle but the golfer admits he has not given retirement a thought. When asked if he had an age in mind when it came to giving it up, he said: “No, I never had a number in mind.
“I always said the three things that need to be in place, first of all, I’ve got to be healthy to swing the club the way I want to swing it. Secondly, I’ve got to enjoy the game and have a desire, and certainly I need to be in contention or playing at a level where I’m not finishing in the bottom third of the field every week.
“I’ve always said, if those three things are still there, if I have the desire, the health and the success, I probably will continue to play the Champions Tour. When one or two of these things go away, then it’s probably time to quit playing.
“Obviously if I’m not healthy, I can’t play at all. If I don’t have some success, I may not enjoy it as much, and then it’s time to pack it in, too.”
Langer continues to perform on the senior golfing circuit, winning 12 major championships since entering the tour in 2015. His last win came in November 2024 at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
He came 14th in this same competition in 2025 and most recently came tied-sixth at the Cologuard Classic during last weekend.