NEWS
Langer goes for third straight senior major at Jeld-Wen Tradition
By Associated Press
Published on
Bernhard Langer has a chance to join rare company on the Champions Tour.
The Jeld-Wen Tradition begins Thursday in central Oregon, and Langer is going after his third consecutive Champions major in the tourâs fourth of five majors this year.
Earlier this summer, Langer won the Senior British Open and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive weeks.
Gary Player is the only player in Champions Tour history to win three consecutive majors. He won the final two of 1987 (Senior Players Championship, U.S. Senior Open), and the first major of 1988 (Senior PGA Championship).
A victory at Sunriverâs Crosswater Club would have Langer joining Jack Nicklaus as the only player to win three majors in a single season. In 1991, Nicklaus won the Senior PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open and Tradition.
âIâm coming in here obviously trying to win and play as well as I can,â Langer said. âIâm not coming in to break records.â
Perhaps the Champions Tour record book isnât incentive, but this may be: a berth on Europeâs Ryder Cup team. Europe Captain Colin Montgomerie recently said he was considering the 53-year-old Langer as one of his captainâs picks.
âIf he gives me a call and he think Iâm the one he wants on the team to strengthen the team, then I will most likely be ready to go and be excited about it,â said Langer, whose last Ryder Cup competition was 2002. âIf he feels he has three guys that are better than me, Iâll accept that, too.â
Langer, who tied for 17th and seventh in his previous two Tradition appearances at Crosswater, wasnât certain about the state of his game. Langer said he spent most of last week resting, recovering from an illness.
A field of 68, including 39 of this seasonâs top 40 money-winners, will challenge Langer for the Traditionâs first prize of $392,000. The only prominent player missing is Fred Couples, ranked second behind Langer in the Champions Tourâs Charles Schwab Cup standings. Couples opted to play in this weekâs PGA Tour event, the Wyndham Championship.
âBernhard has done very well, but to me, thereâs quite a large group of players out here who are capable,â said Tom Lehman, who won the Champions Tourâs other major, the Senior PGA Championship. âBernhard has won three (actually, four) times, but has probably played 14 or 15 tournaments, so heâs not winning everything.â
The Tradition field includes defending champion Mike Reid, and three players who have been prominent in three previous Traditions at Crosswater in Tom Watson, Fred Funk and Loren Roberts. Funk won the 2008 tournament and finished eighth and 11th in the other two. Watson and Roberts finished among the top seven during the past three Traditions.
Crosswater Club is the longest course on the Champions Tour at 7,533 yards, but the past two winners, Reid and Funk, are nowhere near the longest hitters on tour.
âI didnât think it played long last year,â Lehman said of Crosswater. âThereâs a nice blend of holes you can really attack, and some holes where youâd better be careful.â
Earlier in August, Jeld-Wen announced it was ending an eight-year sponsorship of the Tradition. The tour is expected to announce its plans for the Traditionâs future following the tournament.