Age is just a number the adage perfectly fits Bernhard Langer. The German pro is not only the oldest professional golfer still swinging the clubs, but he has also managed to do so after overcoming a career-threatening injury. That setback? No way would it keep him off course. Ahead of the U.S. Senior Open, the veteran sat down to answer a few questions and revealed whether retirement was on the cards or not.

One February morning, Langer went to play pickleball but came back with a torn Achilles tendon. The road to recovery was long and was estimated to take around 12 months but to everyone’s surprise, Langer made his comeback on the greens within three months at the Insperity Invitational in May and secured a T31. Through his actions, Langer made it very clear that he was not ready to hang up his clubs anytime soon.

Unfazed by talk of retirement, Langer reaffirmed his desire to keep competing, as he shared at the pre-tournament press conference at Newport Country Club and revealed his plans to keep playing, “I guess I could, but I love the game of golf and I love to compete, and I’m still good enough to compete and be up there where I think I can win tournaments.”

Bernhard Langer delved deeper into the topic of retirement, revealing his personal benchmark: when I feel like I’m going to finish in the bottom third of the field every week I compete, then it’s probably time to quit. Hopefully I will know when that is.” The veteran golfer has made steady progress and secured two top-10s since his return.

The veteran turned pro in 1972 and has been part of the professional golf scene for over 50 years. Langer even shared the secret behind maintaining his professional career for such a long time, saying, I have a healthy drive and live a disciplined life, which probably helps.” He further added, reflecting on the importance of people around to keep someone going: “You need a great support system with coach, manager, caddie, family obviously is even more important, all of that.

After undergoing surgery, his surgeon and physical therapist advised him to take things slowly with the sport. However, the German pro is showing no signs of slowing down. Just a week ago, he competed in the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open, where he secured a T21 finish. Now, he will be returning to the U.S. Senior Open as the defending champion. But coming fresh off an injury, will it pose a threat to his efforts to defend his title?

What’s Bernhard Langer’s take on his injury and how has he dealt with it?

Last year’s victory was special for Bernhard Langer, as he not only won the major but also became the oldest champion to win the U.S. Senior Open at the age of 65. It seems Langer is not too worried about his injury affecting his performance. He shared his meticulous recovery regime, which began with simple putting and chipping, gradually progressing to hitting 50-yard drives. The 66-year-old stated, “So I hit some wedges, no problem. If I can hit a full wedge, I can hit a full 7-iron. Hit a full 7-iron, no problem. Grabbed the 3-iron, no problem. Next day I grabbed the driver, no problem swinging the club.”

Although everything is fine now, Langer was extremely concerned during the initial days of post-injury recovery about how the injury would change his gameplay. He delved into his mindset during that time, and recalled, “But I was very concerned at the beginning that, because of my injury, that I would change my swing, and I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to just come back sooner and create a new swing that probably wouldn’t be as good, and then I’d have to spend weeks and months redoing later when I’m better to what I taught myself.” 

Despite his injury, Langer has persisted in maintaining his current form of swinging without any issues. However, the problem he faces is related to his legs, as he can’t walk much. According to Langer, this wouldn’t be a problem, as he stated, “As long as they give me a golf cart.”

After returning from his injury and manifesting some impressive performances, do you think that Bernhard Langer will be able to defend the US Senior Open title successfully? Let us know in the comments.