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Bernhard Langer

Germany · born , Anhausen, Germany

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1985 The Masters
  • Last major 1993 The Masters
  • Ryder Cup 10 Cups · 21-15-6 · 24 points (57.1%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 2004
  • Runner-up in majors 2 times

Wins

  1. 1985 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 282 (-6) · by 2 strokes from Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange
  2. 1993 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 4 strokes from Chip Beck

Near misses

  1. 1981 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · runner-up to Bill Rogers · 280
  2. 1984 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to Seve Ballesteros · 278
  3. 1985 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T3 · 284 (+4)
  4. 1986 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T3 · 286 (+6)
  5. 1991 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished T9 · 279 (-1)
  6. 1993 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished 3 · 270 (-10)
  7. 2001 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T3 · 278 (-6)
  8. 2005 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T5 · 281 (-7)

Ryder Cup

10 Cups, 42 matches: 21 won, 15 lost, 6 halved, 24 points. Foursomes 11-6-1, four-ball 6-6-2, singles 4-3-3.

  1. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club Europe · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 1-2-1, 1.5 points · automatic
  2. 1983 PGA National Golf Club Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 4-1-0, 4 points · automatic
  3. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 2-1-2, 3 points · automatic
  4. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club Europe · Europe won 15–13 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
  5. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · tied 14–14 · 0-3-0, 0 points · captain's pick
  6. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points · automatic
  7. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · USA won 15–13 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic
  8. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · automatic
  9. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 3-1-0, 3 points · automatic
  10. 2002 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 15.5–12.5 · 3-0-1, 3.5 points · automatic
  11. 2004 Captain Europe · won 18.5–9.5

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Bill Rogers' rivals →

Moments

  1. 1985 Masters Langer birdied four of his last seven holes to become the second European Masters champion and the first from Germany (then West Germany).
  2. 1985 Masters Curtis Strange, who opened with an 80, led on the back nine Sunday but found water going for the greens in two at 13 and 15 and finished two behind.
  3. 1993 Masters Langer led after 54 holes and won his second Masters, eight years after his first, by four strokes over Chip Beck.
  4. 1993 Masters Jack Nicklaus was among five players who shared the first-round lead at 67.

Records and firsts

  1. 1985 Masters First Masters champion from: Germany · then West Germany
  2. — Ryder Cup Most points, Europe #3 (tie) · 24 (Bernhard Langer; Lee Westwood)

Results by championship

    Best day

    1985 Masters

    Augusta National Golf Club · 282 (-6) · by 2 strokes from Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange

    Langer birdied four of his last seven holes to become the second European Masters champion and the first from Germany (then West Germany).

    Curtis Strange, who opened with an 80, led on the back nine Sunday but found water going for the greens in two at 13 and 15 and finished two behind.

    Record: Germany · then West Germany

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1985.

    Career line, 1981–2005

    Masters
    1985 Masters: won1993 Masters: won
    The Open
    1981 The Open: runner-up to Bill Rogers1984 The Open: runner-up to Seve Ballesteros1985 The Open: finished T31986 The Open: finished T31991 The Open: finished T91993 The Open: finished 32001 The Open: finished T32005 The Open: finished T5
    Ryder Cup
    1981 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-2-11983 Ryder Cup (Europe): 4-1-01985 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-1-21987 Ryder Cup (Europe): 3-1-11989 Ryder Cup (Europe): 0-3-01991 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-1-11993 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-2-01995 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-3-01997 Ryder Cup (Europe): 3-1-02002 Ryder Cup (Europe): 3-0-1
    19902000

    20 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, GB / Europe

    Bernhard Langer was born on August 27, 1957, in Anhausen, Germany. Langer won 2 major championships: 2 Masters (1985, 1993). Langer played in 10 Ryder Cups for Europe (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002), winning 21, losing 15 and halving 6 of 42 matches for 24 points, and captained the side in 2004.

    See Bernhard Langer in our rooms: The Masters, The Open and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1985 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 282 (-6) · by 2 strokes from Seve Ballesteros, Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange
    2. 1993 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 4 strokes from Chip Beck

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1981 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · runner-up to Bill Rogers · 280
    2. 1984 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to Seve Ballesteros · 278
    3. 1985 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T3 · 284 (+4)
    4. 1986 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T3 · 286 (+6)
    5. 1991 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished T9 · 279 (-1)
    6. 1993 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished 3 · 270 (-10)
    7. 2001 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T3 · 278 (-6)
    8. 2005 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T5 · 281 (-7)

    Ryder Cup

    Langer played 10 Ryder Cups for Europe: 42 matches, 21 won, 15 lost, 6 halved, 24 points (57.1% of those available). By format: foursomes 11-6-1, four-ball 6-6-2, singles 4-3-3 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club Europe · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 1-2-1, 1.5 points · automatic
    2. 1983 PGA National Golf Club Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 4-1-0, 4 points · automatic
    3. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 2-1-2, 3 points · automatic
    4. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club Europe · Europe won 15–13 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
    5. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · tied 14–14 · 0-3-0, 0 points · captain's pick
    6. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points · automatic
    7. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · USA won 15–13 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic
    8. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · automatic
    9. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 3-1-0, 3 points · automatic
    10. 2002 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 15.5–12.5 · 3-0-1, 3.5 points · automatic
    11. 2004 Captain Europe · won 18.5–9.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Colin Montgomerie (7), Nick Faldo (6), Sandy Lyle (4), Manuel Piñero (3), José María Cañizares (2), Ken Brown (2), Ian Woosnam (2), Per-Ulrik Johansson (2), Ronan Rafferty (1), Mark James (1), Barry Lane (1), David Gilford (1).

    Masters Champions Dinner

    1986, as the 1985 champion

    1. Soup / salad Wedding soup (Langer's recollection only)
    2. Main course Wiener schnitzel (Masters media guide; AP 2017) / Sauerbraten — "my favorite German dish" (Langer's own account, GOLF.com 2022)
    3. Sides Spaetzle; red cabbage (Langer)
    4. Dessert Black Forest cake

    Confidence: Confirmed (with conflict). Menu status: Full. Widely credited as the first culturally themed menu; Langer: "They told me I could have whatever I wanted, which surprised me." Sources conflict on the main dish.

    1994, as the 1993 champion

    1. Soup / salad Wedding soup
    2. Main course Turkey and dressing
    3. Sides Mashed potatoes; stuffing; cranberry sauce (Langer, GOLF.com 2022)
    4. Dessert Black Forest torte

    Confidence: Reported. Menu status: Full. Langer called it "a simpler option".

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1985 Masters First Masters champion from: Germany · then West Germany
    2. — Ryder Cup Most points, Europe #3 (tie) · 24 (Bernhard Langer; Lee Westwood)

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia · Wikidata.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. worldgolfhalloffame.org: bernhard langer
    2. pgatour.com: career
    3. golfcompendium.com: masters winners
    4. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    5. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    6. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    7. golfcompendium.com: most wins in major championships golf
    8. app.europeantour.com: who has the most wins in european tour history
    9. golfcompendium.com: european tour most wins
    10. pga.com: tiger woods masters ultimate guide
    11. WP: List of European Ryder Cup golfers
    12. WP: Bernhard Langer
    13. Wikidata: Q45012
    14. Wikipedia: 1985 Masters Tournament
    15. golfcompendium.com: 1985 masters
    16. nbcsports.com: by the numbers jumpsuit numbers for every masters champions caddie
    17. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    18. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
    19. Wikipedia: Masters Tournament
    20. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    21. todays-golfer.com: cut rules
    22. golfcompendium.com: what is the cut at the masters
    23. cbssports.com: 2024 masters field could be smallest since tiger woods first victory w
    24. liveabout.com: what are the yardages at augusta national during the masters 1564592
    25. golfcompendium.com: 1993 masters tournament
    26. Wikipedia: 1993 Masters Tournament
    27. R&A 1985
    28. R&A 1986
    29. R&A 1991
    30. R&A 1993
    31. R&A 2001
    32. R&A 2005
    33. GC: 1981 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1981 Ryder Cup
    35. GC: 1983 ryder cup
    36. Wikipedia: 1983 Ryder Cup
    37. GC: 1985 ryder cup
    38. Wikipedia: 1985 Ryder Cup
    39. GC: 1987 ryder cup
    40. Wikipedia: 1987 Ryder Cup
    41. GC: 1989 ryder cup
    42. Wikipedia: 1989 Ryder Cup
    43. GC: 1991 ryder cup
    44. Wikipedia: 1991 Ryder Cup
    45. GC: 1993 ryder cup
    46. Wikipedia: 1993 Ryder Cup
    47. GC: 1995 ryder cup
    48. Deseret News 1995
    49. Wikipedia: 1995 Ryder Cup
    50. Golf Channel
    51. GC: 1997 ryder cup
    52. SI Vault 1997 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/08/25/you-da-man-lee-janzen-made-tom-kites-job-as-captain-a-little-easier-by-proving-with-his-play-at-winged-foot-that-he-belonged-on-the-ryder-cup-team
    53. Wikipedia: 1997 Ryder Cup
    54. GC: 2002 ryder cup
    55. SI Vault 2001 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/2001/08/27/tough-calls-picking-the-ryder-cup-wild-cards-was-a-difficult-job-but-somebody-namely-curtis-strange-had-to-do-it
    56. Deseret News 2001
    57. Wikipedia: 2002 Ryder Cup
    58. WP Ryder Cup
    59. golf.com
    60. todays-golfer.com: the first champions dinner in 1952
    61. bookies.com: masters champions dinner history menus and the most popular foods serv
    62. golf.com: what like host masters champions dinner
    63. golfdigestme.com
    64. dailyherald.com: champions dinner a tradition unlike any other at masters
    65. golf.com: vijay singh for your supper remembering the best masters champions din
    66. National Club Golfer
    67. The Analyst (Opta)