From a hole to healed in three months, that is. Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer will play on the PGA Tour Champions next week after rupturing his Achilles tendon in February.
In a statement at the time through the PGA Tour, the 66-year-old said he ruptured his Achilles tendon “during training drills.”
Langer later admitted during a March interview on the “Musings on Golf” podcast that his injury came from playing pickleball.
He had announced in January that the Masters Tournament 2024 it would be his last. Although Langer appeared at Augusta earlier this month and took part in the proceedings, he did not play.
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On Friday, the PGA Tour Champions announced Langer's return to the upcoming Insperity Invitational in Houston, Texas next week, along with a video documenting his recovery process from various walking boots to physical therapy, and citing Aaron Rodgers as an inspiration.
“I've heard of other athletes who had similar injuries, like Aaron Rodgers,” Langer said in the video. “That encouraged me that I could do something similar.”
Rodgers, the 40-year-old quarterback of the New York Jets, Achilles tendon ruptured in the Jets' season opener last September.
Langer is the current record holder on the PGA Tour Champions, a senior tour for golfers over 50, with 46 wins. He is the only player to win the tour over the age of 64, which he has done four times. Langer won the Masters in 1985 and 1993.
“If I get back to being the best, even at my age, I still think I'm competitive. And I still think I can win on certain golf courses,” Langer said in the video.
