Knocking off Langer looms as a much
longer shot.
McCarron, who is second on the money
list, managed the trick last year by shoot-
ing 13-under and defeating Tom Byrum in
a playoff. Langer tied for sixth at minus-9.
But Langer has had a spectacular season
even by his record-shattering standards.
At age 59—he turned 60 Aug. 27—Langer
has won four times, including three majors,
the Regions Tradition, KitchenAid Senior
PGA and the Senior Open. Along the way,
he surpassed Jack Nicklaus’ career mark of
eight senior major titles. Langer has 10. He’s
still not the oldest to win a senior major,
though. That’s Tom Watson, who was nearly
62 when he won the 2011 Senior PGA.
22
“Winning 10 senior majors, it’s not easily
done,” Langer said following his latest Senior
Open victory (his third) in July at Royal Port-
hcawl, Wales. “Very blessed and honored to
have achieved that. Maybe there’s one or two
more in the future, who knows?”
Fans, rivals and tournament directors
like Schoenfeld marvel at Langer’s con-
sistency and staying power at the top of
his game. “I’m in awe of what he’s doing,”
Schoenfeld says.
Since 2008, the World Golf Hall of Famer
has won 33 senior tournaments, finished
first in money eight times and been voted
player of the year six times. He’s won mul-
tiple events every year but 2011, when
thumb surgery interrupted his season.
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 17
In multiple interviews this season,
Langer has attributed his remarkable
physical and mental longevity to good
health, meticulous eating and conditioning
habits, competitive desire, calming reli-
gious faith and his ability to decompress
with family and hobbies away from golf.
“I’ve been fortunate not having had any
surgeries except my thumb,” Langer said
in June before the U.S. Senior Open, where
he tied for 18th. “And some guys just don’t
have that drive; they’ve done it 40 years
or whatever and they’d rather do other
things. . . . That’s not me. When the time
comes where I finish 20th and 30th every
week and I don’t feel like I can win any-
more, that may be the time to pack it up.”
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Beating The System