Bernhard Langer said farewell to the DP World Tour Friday at the BMW International Open.
He missed the cut after he carded a 71-73 to finish at even par. Golfclub Munchen Eichenried in Munich, Germany, is a track about 45 minutes from where the 66-year-old grew up.
Langer is a two-time Masters champion, won 42 times on the formerly known European Tour and has 46 wins on the Champions Tour. After 52 years, he had one more first to experience — saying goodbye to golf, at least to the DP World Tour.
Things got emotional for him on Friday. He had to fight back tears throughout the 18th hole and while he spoke with the media after his round.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Langer said after his round. “It’s been a dream come true for me, growing up in a village of 800 people where nobody knew what golf was.”
“People had no idea, it was a strange situation. Even when I finished school and I tried to become a golf professional people didn’t even know what that was, it didn’t even exist as a profession in a way. It was very difficult and complicated, but it was my dream. I was able to live that dream for 50 years.”
Langer continued to put into words what his career and the DP World Tour mean to him.
“I have wonderful memories from all over the world, not just in Europe but Asia, Australia, Japan, America, South Africa. I was able to travel the world and meet with kings and queens,” he said. “I played golf with all sorts of people, whether they were successful businessmen or just the average butcher or bricklayer or whatever, it was fun, it was great.”
Once Langer finished, he took off his visor and received quite the cheer from the German faithful. The golf legend hugged Marcel Siem and Martin Kaymer, two fellow Germans, as they followed him.
He gave the crowd a thumbs-up, blew a kiss, and embraced his family and friends. Then he signed his scorecard.
It is a miracle to see him on the golf course after Langer tore his Achilles heel in February. He missed the Masters Tournament in March but returned in three months to play on the 50-and-over tour. The German golfer made his return at the Insperity Invitational at the end of April.
He also attempted to defend his U.S. Senior Open title at Newport Country Club in June. Langer finished T42 at 2-over.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.