2x Masters Champion Bernhard Langer announces retirement from Majors after US Open 2024

Even a career as formidable as Bernhard Langer's will eventually have to come to an end. That time is drawing ever closer for the German, who has already announced that he won't be playing The Masters after this year.

Bernhard Langer will be competing next weekend, January 18 to 20, at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, Hawaii — the inaugural event of the 2024 season on the PGA Tour Champions. There, he talked to the press confirming that he will be playing The Masters for the last time in 2024.

Here's what Langer had to say (via PGA Tour News Service):

“It’s going to be my last Masters this year, I’ve already decided on that. And it probably will be my last U.S. Open, too, unless some miracle happens."

Bernhard Langer also hinted at the reason for this decision. At the age of 66, his physical capabilities are beginning to diminish too much. He said:

"I am aware that I’m going to be [at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai] hitting 3-irons and 2-hybrids when the guys are hitting 9-irons into the greens. That’s tough to compete against, but it’s a challenge, and I usually don’t shy away from challenges."

Bernhard Langer played his 40th edition of The Masters in 2023, becoming the 14th player in history to reach such a milestone. As for his participation in the US Open, 2024 will be his 21st participation in the event, and his first since 2005.

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A look into Bernhard Langer's career

Bernhard Langer's career ranks him as one of the great stars of his generation and a legend of European golf. Langer played for more than 30 years in the Open category after turning professional in 1972, recording 78 wins.

Langer's 42 victories in the European Tour stand out, where is ranked second behind Seve Ballesteros (50). In addition, he won three PGA Tour tournaments. His passage to the Senior category was no less brilliant. In 16 seasons that have since followed, he has won 46 PGA Tour Champions events, which places him as the winningest player in the history of the circuit.

The 66-year-old's participation in the Senior Majors has been stratospheric. In 73 editions, he has missed only one cut, won 11 (winning the career Senior Grand Slam), and finished in 36 other Top 10s.

However, Bernhard Langer's history in the Open category majors deserves a separate mention. The German won The Masters Tournament twice (1985 and 1993) and also finished second on two occasions in The Open Championship. He also managed a tied fourth-place finish in the US Open.

As if that were not enough, Langer reached 19 Top-10s in tournaments in this category. At The Masters, Langer finished in the Top-10 nine times. In 2014 (at the age of 52), he was able to finish T8. The German has missed only 13 cuts at Augusta National, but nine of them occurred after he turned 50.