Langer thrilled to back in Hawaii

If the viral #TenYearChallenge, in which people post side-by side selfies from 10 years ago and today, declared a winner, it would be Bernhard Langer.

Langer at 61 doesn’t look markedly different than he did at 51. Or even 41 for that matter. He’d just embarrass everybody in a #TwentyYearChallenge.

The 38-time winner is a master at honing his mind and body for the grind of the PGA TOUR Champions schedule, which is why he keeps producing victories and season-long championships and player of the year awards while most have fallen by the wayside.

Langer was asked this week if it meant a little more to have won his fifth Charles Schwab Cup and fourth in the past five years and his fifth consecutive POY as voted on by his peers at his age.

“Probably a little bit it because it’s more and more unusual or harder, whatever you want to call it,” Langer said after a practice round Tuesday at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, the annual season-opening event. “Guys expect to do well between 50 and 55. Once they turn that corner and hit 55, not a lot have success anymore. So it’s pretty neat to be at or near the top at 61.”

Not as neat for Scott McCarron, or Scott Parel, or Jerry Kelly, or … you get the picture. None has hit 55 yet; all are hotly pursuing the German’s crown.

Langer knows some were close last year. McCarron and Parel, both 53, were nipping at his heels, as was Miguel Angel Jimenez, who turned 55 earlier this month.

“It means a great deal to me to be player of the year,” Langer said. “The competition is pretty good. There’s a lot of great guys out there now. Last year there were three or four other guys who had similar years to myself and any one of them would deserve it.”

To a man, the guys on PGA TOUR Champions will say the reason they still play is because they get to compete. It’s what they thrive on. It’s what makes the game fun for them. There is something on the line, and the juices are flowing.

Take a look at McCarron’s desire to catch Langer:

Langer is back at Hualalai for the 12th time. He unabashedly loves everything about the event, from the course to the hotel to the amenities.

“It’s absolutely my favorite spot on tour,” Langer said. “We are starting off in the right place.

“The course is phenomenal. It’s in really good shape -- the fairways, greens, bunkers, even the weather is brilliant. There’s not much wind yet. So far it’s perfect.”

Langer won here in 2009, 2014 and 2017. True, he has won a lot at a lot of courses, but he doesn’t hold them all in the same regard.

“I love everything about (Hualalai),” Langer said. “The resort is phenomenal -- the workout facilities, the food … you don’t have to go anywhere. There’s no driving involved.

“As far as the course, it’s right there in front of you. Just stay out of the lava. Keep it straight. The greens are beautiful. They’re normally fast and true. There are some challenging holes, but normally the scores are pretty low.”

Langer said he spent time away from the golf in the offseason. He did some snowskiing and enjoyed some family time before beginning his workout regimen in earnest and getting back in the swing.

He said he worked out a bit too hard and has been trying to shake off some associated injuries for the past few weeks. He probably devoted some extra time to his putting in the run-up to Hualalai because he struggled with the putter early last year.

Langer was fallible last March. He finished T54 at the Cologuard Classic and solo 58 at the Toshiba Classic, the worst two finishes of his Champions Tour career. Then he put his nose to the grindstone like the champion he is, and over the course of his next 19 events his worst finish was a T17. That stretch included 13 top 10s, two wins (the second of which came after he had turned 61) and five runner-up finishes.

Whether he can continue to play as well as he has is anyone’s guess. What’s not in doubt is how hard he’ll push and how far any player will have to go not only to challenge him, but to best him.