AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bernhard Langer`s spiritual journey began at Amen Corner.
In 1985, this golfer from Germany won his first Masters Tournament at Augusta National. During the winner`s interview, he used Jesus` name inappropriately but later found faith at a Bible study in Hilton Head, South Carolina. In 1993, he achieved his second Masters victory on Easter Sunday, at what many consider the most important church in American golf.
`This tournament had a deeper meaning for me than most realize, especially spiritually,` Langer, now 67, mentioned on Friday.
He spoke in the past tense because a bogey unfortunately caused him to miss the cut in his 41st and final Masters as a player.
Langer`s walk off the 18th green on Friday signified the end of a remarkable Masters career. His initial victory came when he was 27 years old, from a small German village of 800 people. He was only the third international champion, following South Africa`s Gary Player and Spain`s Seve Ballesteros. He added a second green jacket in 1993, eight years later. He achieved seven top-10 finishes, including one in 2014, and even in 2020, he finished under par, tying for 29th at 3-under.
Langer`s long career lasted through big changes in golf equipment. He is the last major winner who used a persimmon driver.
Around the same time, John Daly won the 1991 PGA Championship using a Cobra driver with a Kevlar head, and Jose Maria Olazabal won the 1994 Masters with a larger TaylorMade metal driver.
Memories of Langer`s past wins brought a sense of nostalgia. As part of his Augusta farewell, the Champions Tour shared a video of Langer showing the Texan driver he used to win 32 years prior, made by the Texas Golf Co. Langer then presented his most treasured club, inspired by that win.
`They gave me a very special gift,` Langer explained. `The owner painted this by hand. It`s one of their drivers, showing `The Last Supper` with Jesus and the twelve disciples. Hand-carved. It`s very unique.`
Almost 2,000 miles away in Jalisco, Mexico, Dave Wood was amazed.
Wood is a multi-talented person. He grew up in Hollywood, California, his father was a golf professional and instructor. He studied at California Institute of the Arts, a top art school. He was recruited to play golf at the University of Houston but left after a year, graduating from the Glassell School of Art in Houston instead. Still a good golfer, he combined his interests by experimenting with club design. He was mentored by golf legends Jackie Burke and Jimmy Demaret, both Masters champions from Texas.
This led to the Texas Golf Co. and his Texan driver invention.
`I was the first to put loft degrees on clubs,` Wood said. `Every club you see today in pro shops has that feature.`
Wood and Langer met at Riviera Country Club in 1984 and connected quickly. Wood, also a competitive golfer, was one of the few equipment reps who understood players. Launch monitors were not available then, so Wood refined his products by getting input from golfer friends like Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman. Before advanced technology like robots used by Bryson DeChambeau, Wood used a hands-on approach to achieve precision.
He found Langer’s testing methods to be the most structured.
`Bernhard would send his caddie to the far end of the driving range with a signal system,` Wood mentioned. `It was very precise, like good German engineering. If the ball landed and then curved left, the caddie would signal back to Bernhard what happened.`
Soon, both their careers advanced.
Demaret and Burke began sending players to Wood. Phil Mickelson and Ben Crenshaw started using his clubs, including the Texan driver Mickelson used as an amateur to win the 1991 Tucson Open on the PGA Tour. In the early 90s, Wood also made one for Langer.
In 1993, Wood was at Augusta from Sunday to Tuesday but then had to fly to Japan. There, at midnight, he watched his friend win the Masters using a club he had made.
`If he had lost, I might have broken a Japanese TV,` Wood joked.
He wanted to create something special for Langer to represent this achievement. Knowing Langer was deeply religious, he decided to make a Texan driver engraved with `The Last Supper`.
`Leonardo da Vinci was always a big inspiration,` Wood said. `After Bernhard`s Masters win, this became my goal. It was a great challenge.`
He worked for six months on the special driver, learning how to handle the `porosity` of persimmon wood and engrave on the driver head`s curves. Once finished, he was eager to give it to Langer, forgetting to even photograph it.
This week, Wood received a text from a golf industry friend with the video of Langer showing the gift. Wood was amazed Langer still valued it. It brought back memories of three decades in golf and the end of an era as his old friend completed his last round at the Masters.
`It looked exactly as I remembered,` Wood said from his home in Mexico. `It`s touching that it still means so much to him, that among all his wins and trophies, he cherishes this gift.`
Wood watched on Friday as Langer wore green pants, a tribute to his 1983 win. Fans cheered him across the course. Wood saw him birdie the 12th hole, seemingly being saved by Amen Corner again. But Langer then had a double bogey on the 15th and another bogey on the 18th.
`Coming to the 18th, I had mixed feelings because I was close to making the cut. Even after a bogey, I wasn`t sure if I was out, as I thought 3-over might be enough,` Langer said.
However, he missed the cut by a single shot when his putt on the 18th barely missed.
Knowing when to retire is especially hard in golf. Langer is the most successful player on the PGA Tour Champions, still outperforming younger players well into his 60s. On good days, he can still compete with players half his age. (Just after Langer finished at 3-over, 28-year-old Will Zalatoris completed his second round at 8-over.) For great athletes, deciding when to stop is often about personal conviction.
Langer has maintained excellent fitness despite an Achilles injury last year. He was very close to becoming the oldest player to make the cut in a major tournament, aiming to surpass Sam Snead`s record from the 1979 PGA Championship at age 67. But Langer said he wanted more than just to play on the weekend.
`I want to be in contention,` Langer stated. `I want to be near the top of the leaderboard and have a chance to win. On this course, I don`t think I can win anymore.`
Langer`s playing partner, amateur Noah Kent, averaged 322.6 yards per drive over the two days, while Langer averaged 253.3 yards.
`I`m hitting much longer approach shots into the greens, making it hard to control the ball,` Langer explained. `This course is meant for shorter to medium iron shots. The greens are very challenging.`
To compete, Langer had to strategically miss shots and recover repeatedly, using his 41 years of experience at Augusta. He did this effectively, even questioning his decision to retire. But now, he feels at peace with it.
He walked off the 18th green with his son Jason, who was his caddie, and greeted his wife, children, and grandchildren. `Many emotions went through my mind the last two days walking the fairways,` he said. `Friends from everywhere came to walk a few holes with me. It meant a lot.` Dave Wood in Mexico understood these feelings. His `Last Supper` driver for Langer was also his own kind of farewell.
`That was the last persimmon club I ever made personally,` Wood said. `I didn`t realize it then. That`s life.`
Wood watched every shot of Langer`s round on Friday, saying he had never been more invested in a golf game.
`This is the end,` Wood concluded. `The end of our era.`
Masters announcer Jim Nantz, who has covered the tournament since 1989, called Langer `one of the greatest players in the history of this tournament.`
Langer reflected on his legacy in his final press conference after four decades. `How will they remember me? Hopefully, as a good golfer, but also as a man of faith.`
