Bernhard Langer “can’t walk,” will still play Senior PGA Championship

Bernhard Langer has defied the odds and returned from a ruptured Achilles tendon sooner than expected.

He tied for eighth at the Regions Tradition two weeks ago, which was a great result all things considered. Last week at the Insperity Invitational, his first competition since his injury, he tied for 31st place.

But he admitted Tuesday that he “can’t walk,” even though he’s still competing on the PGA Tour Champions.

“I had to apply. [the American Disabilities Act (ADA)]ADA,” Langer explained ahead of this week’s Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Michigan.

“If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be playing golf anywhere right now because I can’t walk 18 holes. Not just this week. Every week for the next few months. More than anywhere else in the world. You can take me to a flat golf course. I can’t walk that long. I can’t stand and walk for five hours.”

Mr. Langer plans to use a golf cart to tour Harbor Shores, a hilly Jack Nicklaus layout on the shores of Lake Michigan. To date, he has hosted the Senior PGA Championship six times, all within the past 12 years. Stephen Alker won at this course in 2022.

“You’ve got to hit the ball well and stay out of the lateral hazards, the bunkers and the rough, which are pretty tough,” Langer said of the course.

“I think it also makes you think about courses designed by Jack Nicklaus. You don’t necessarily get to hit it anywhere you want. If you get caught on the wrong side, you’re penalized. Greens too. So you really have to think about it your way. You have to figure out exactly where you can’t hit the right shot, where you can get it up and down, where you can’t hit it.”

Langer finished alone in third place in 2022, six strokes behind Alker. The two-time Masters champion shot three rounds in the 60s before posting an even-par 71 on Sunday.

Photo by: Montana Pritchard/PGA of America

But that was about two years before he tore his Achilles tendon while playing pickleball.

“I was shocked because I thought pickleball wasn’t a dangerous sport. I go snow skiing and do a lot of things that I would consider more dangerous than pickleball,” Langer said.

“If you talk to an orthopedic surgeon, they’ll prove me or anyone else wrong. Believe it or not, 50% of their clients are pickleball players. Fitness has nothing to do with fitness. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. Achilles tendons can rupture at any time. It doesn’t matter if you’re healthy or not. Aaron Rodgers ruptured his Achilles tendon. So do baseball players, football players, bobsledders. It’s very, very healthy.”

The German remains as energetic as ever, even in his 60s. Langer also continues to compete at the highest level, most recently winning the U.S. Senior Open last summer by two strokes over Steve Stricker.

However, an Achilles injury set him back a bit, but only for about three months.

But without golf carts and ADA regulations, he wouldn’t have been able to compete.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Please take a look. @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.