Fifty years after his European Tour debut, Bernhard Langer will make his final DP World Tour start this week at the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany.
It will mark his 513th start on the European circuit—the tour where he amassed 42 career titles, second only to the late, great Seve Ballesteros.
“I’ve never said goodbye to anything so far in terms of golf; this is going to be a first experience [for me],” Langer told DP World Tour media officials.
“I have a feeling it’s going to be very emotional.”
The two-time Masters champion grew up 45 minutes from Golfclub München Eichenried, the host course of this week’s tournament. His connections to this area run deeper than that, though. Langer worked as an assistant professional at nearby Munich Golf Club, which helped give him his start.
Langer then went on to win 123 times around the world.
He is a Ryder Cup legend, too, having played on Team Europe 10 times, winning six. Langer also captained the Europeans to a dominant victory at the 2004 Ryder Cup, winning 18.5-to-9.5 on American soil—one of the more impressive wins in Ryder Cup history.
He is, without a doubt, Germany’s most accomplished golfer.
So, in an ode to German golf, the DP World Tour paired Langer with fellow countryman Marcel Siem, who won last week’s Italian Open, and Martin Kaymer, who, like Langer, won a pair of major championships. Kaymer won the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
“It means a great deal just to play in front of the home crowd,” Langer added.
“Hopefully, I can make the cut, but I hear the golf course is a lot longer than it used to be, and that’s a challenge for me.”
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.