Going hunting in Canada

Bernhard Langer plans on doing a little hunting in Canada this summer.

Title-hunting. And he's taking dead aim at Montreal.

Spanning a sterling career that includes two Masters titles and a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame, Langer has racked up 86 PGA Tour wins in more than 20 countries.

Don’t count Canada among them. Now, 31 years after his only visit north to play in a competitive event, Langer is returning this summer.

“It’s wonderful to come back to Canada,” said an enthusiastic Langer at last week’s press conference to unveil the Montreal Championship, a new Champions Tour event to be held in suburban Montreal July 2-4. “Actually, the only other time I’ve played in Canada was 1979 in Vancouver for the Canadian PGA Championship.

“I’ve never won in Canada. I’ll be trying extremely hard to get my first title here.”

Don’t bet against him.

Langer is one of the current golden boys of the Champions Tour, winning Player of the Year kudos in 2008 and 2009 thanks to a seven combined titles, yet he still is regarded as one of the newcomers to the circuit.

That, Langer admits, has taken a little getting used to.

“Two years ago when I turned 50 and they called me rookie, and I said ‘what are you talking about?'," he laughs. "I guess I was a rookie again on the Champions Tour. It was kind of a weird feeling at first, but you get used to it. What a thrill to have another career within a career, if you want to call it that.”

While some view the Champions Tour as the place where yesterday’s stars wind down their careers, Langer stresses many of his fellow Champions Tour regulars are just getting better with age. With the wildly popular Fred Couples, who should have rock-star status on the Champions Tour, hinting that he is leaning towards playing the 50-and-over tour on more of a full-time basis, the circuit continues to showcase a who’s who from yesterday.

And many of them are showing no sign of slowing down.

“The opportunities we have out here are fantastic. It’s unique in that sense – most sports, you can’t compete when you’re 50,” reasons Langer.

“Look at what Tom Watson did last year at the British Open, or Greg Norman two years ago. I myself have been in contention on the European Tour several times in the past two or three years. That’s the unique thing about golf. Just because you’re 50 or 55 doesn’t mean you can’t compete with the very best in the world.”

Now Langer will chase the POTY three-peat, a task he knows will be easier said than done. In the 2010 curtain-raiser, Langer was ninth at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, an event that featured an epic final-round duel between Watson and Champions Tour freshman Couples.

“I’ll try to win my third Player of the Year award this season, but the competition gets tougher and tougher,” he admits. “There’s many Hall of Famers, many major championship winners out here. We have a lot of fun on the golf course, but we want to beat each other and take that trophy with us.”

It’s been more than three decades since Langer has played in a competitive tournament in Canada, something that will likely change this summer.

“That’s a long time ago. It’s time for me to come back.”

Just to clean up a little unfinished business during a special hunting trip to Canada.
More articles by Marty Henwood