THE SENIOR OPEN PRESENTED BY ROLEX

July 22, 2021

Bernhard Langer

Sunningdale Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Five birdies, one bogey for a 66. What was the strength of your game today?

BERNHARD LANGER: I think my strength was my driving. I hit it pretty good off the tee and I hit some pretty good iron shots. Weakness was the putter. I had two 3-putts early on and made my first putt on 16 and another one on 17 and I had a par save on 18. I wish I could have played a few more holes but I was just getting warmed up with the putter.

Q. How inspiring is it to come back to Sunningdale where you played so many tournaments in the 80s and 90s and what are the differences now compared to then as far as equipment and how Sunningdale as it plays?

BERNHARD LANGER: This course hasn't changed. I came here 40 years ago, maybe more than 40 years ago. But it's the same. They added a couple tee boxes here and there, and everything else is fantastic, and there's no need to change. This course is withstanding the test of time, as they say, and it's perfect for us. I think there's still a lot of for me, medium, even long irons. It's a wonderful mixture of short par 4s and long par 4s. Looks innocent at times but it can grab.

Q. Speaking of working and the test of time, you're arguably the most competitive player at your age through history. No one has been more competitive than you. What is your secret to staying competitive against guys that are 12, 13 years younger than you?

BERNHARD LANGER: Eating lots of sauerkraut and sausages. No, obviously I have pretty good genes I would think. My mother is going to be 98 in a couple of weeks. But I do work on it: I enjoy working out, I love playing golf, I love to walk, not sitting in a cart and all of that helps.

Obviously to be successful, you need more than fitness. You need good technique and have to be mentally tough and strong, and a good caddie and coach mand hopefully a good private life and all that stuff. It's a puzzle and the pieces need to fit most of the time if you want to have longevity and success in this game.

Q. 66 opening round; where do you go from here? What's your plan?

BERNHARD LANGER: I'm going to have a bite to eat so I don't lose too much weight. I'm used to having three meals during COVID. Yeah, I'm going to practise a bit and see if I can fix my putter and maybe hit a few putters and maybe rest for tomorrow's late tee time.