Fifteen Minutes With Boca’s Pro Golf Hero Bernhard Langer
By Marci Shatzman
Right on time for his press conference Thursday, Boca’s Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer looked fit and ready to take on 49 challengers in the PGA’s TimberTech Championship pro golf tournament here all weekend.
The defending champ will be paired with 2021 champion Steven Alker and Stephen Ames in Friday’s first round. They’ll go off the first tee of the Old Course at Broken Sound at 11:46 a.m., according to the tournament.
Langer was mic’ed for mostly broadcast media at 9:45 a.m. sharp near the new 18th hole. The course was redesigned last year by Rees Jones, and Langer said he only had a few (more than two) times to try out the new holes before play starts officially on Friday.
Here’s more media questions and Langer’s responses:
Q: How do you feel about playing in Boca?
A: Fantastic. It’s always great to be playing at home. (The Langers have lived here since 1986).
Q: Is the wind a factor? (Thursday was windy.)
A: Wind is always the toughest factor in golf. Especially on water holes.
Q: Is having new golfers on the Champions Tour extra competition? (Champions are the PGA’s best tour golfers 50 and older. Langer turned 66 in August.)
A: You have to be on top of your game to compete with 50-year-old rookies. (He said he already is.)
Q: Now that you’ve passed Hale Irwin’s record, what’s next? (He bested Irwin’s PGA Tour Champions record of 45 victories when Langer won the Chubb Classic in Naples, Florida this February.)
A: Once I won 46, I said let’s shoot for the moon for 50.
Q: Will you have a lot of friends and family here?
A: It’s nice to sleep in your own bed and have family and friends here, including people from our church. I expect a large group out there.
Q: Are you ever planning to retire?
A: I take it one year at a time. I have more time for golf now that my children are grown. I’m still very good at it and competitive. I can make my own schedule.
Q: How do you stay fit?
A: We have professionals and equipment. We can work out every day. Sometimes it’s better on tour. (It takes his body longer to recover, he added.)
With media making a passing reference to pickleball, Langer said he plays. “I love it. It’s better than sitting on the couch.”
Tickets to the TimberTech Championship start at $25 for a one-day grounds pass. The TimberTech Championship will distribute complimentary passes to current military and veterans, frontline workers (healthcare workers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and law enforcement) and children 15 and younger. Here’s the link for tickets, hospitality and entertainment packages and parking
www.timbertechchampionship.com.
