Bernhard Langer “can’t walk,” will still play Senior PGA Championship

Bernhard Langer ruptured his Achilles in February, which has hindered his mobility. But he will still play in the Senior PGA Championship.

Bernhard Langer defied the odds and returned from a ruptured Achilles tendon earlier than expected.

Two weeks ago, he tied for 8th at the Regions Tradition, an impressive accomplishment, all things considered. The week before, in his first event since the injury, he tied for 31st at the Insperity Invitational.

Yet, he admitted on Tuesday that he “can’t walk,” despite still competing on the PGA Tour Champions.

“I had to apply for [the American Disabilities Act (ADA)], got the ADA,” Langer explained ahead of the Senior PGA Championship, set for this week at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Michigan.

“If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t be playing golf anywhere right now because I can’t walk 18 holes. It’s not just this week; it’s every week for a few more months. You can put me on the flattest golf course anywhere in the world. I can’t walk that long. Standing for five hours and walking is not on right now.”

Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images

Langer will use a golf cart to get around Harbor Shores, a hilly Jack Nicklaus layout that sits on the shores of Lake Michigan. It has hosted the Senior PGA Championship six times before, all within the past 12 years. Steven Alker won at this course in 2022.

“You have to drive the ball well, keep it out of the lateral hazards, bunkers, and rough, which are pretty punishing,” Langer said of the course.

“I think Jack Nicklaus designed courses also make you think; they make you play from one spot to another, not just necessarily hit it anywhere you want. If you get caught on the wrong side, you get punished. Also with the greens. So you really have to think your way and be precise and figure out if you can’t hit the proper shot, where can you get it up and down from and where not.”

Langer finished solo third in 2022, six strokes behind Alker. The two-time Masters champion shot three rounds in the 60s before carding an even-par 71 on Sunday.

Photo by Montana Pritchard/PGA of America

But that was nearly two years before he tore his Achilles playing pickleball.

“It shocked me because I thought pickleball was not a dangerous sport. I go snow skiing and do a lot of other things that seem a lot more dangerous than pickleball,” Langer said.

“When you talk to orthopedic surgeons, they will prove me or anybody wrong. Believe it or not, 50% of their clientele are pickleball players. It has nothing to do with fitness—nothing whatsoever. You can tear your Achilles any time, whether you're fit or not. Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles, and baseball and football players and bobsledders, anybody, and they’re very, very fit, believe me.”

The German has remained as fit as ever well into his 60s. Langer also continues to compete at the highest level, most recently winning the U.S. Senior Open last summer by two strokes over Steve Stricker.

But his Achilles injury set him back a bit, but only by about three months.

Yet, if not for a golf cart and ADA regulations, he would not be able to compete.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.