Masters champion will never return to Augusta after 'struggling to walk'

Bernhard Langer has confirmed he will not be participating in the Masters in April due to ongoing serious health problems. The German golfer admitted that "walking is still difficult" before his final round at Augusta National in 2025.

The 68-year-old turned professional in 1972 and continues to grace the fairways to this day. Langer won his first Masters in 1985 by two strokes and secured his second green jacket in 1993 with a four-shot advantage over Chip Beck. Speaking ahead of his last Masters appearance last year, the seasoned golfer admitted an Achilles tendon tear in 2024 disrupted his performance and continues to impact him. He said: "So I'm not going in there with a mindset of winning anymore, that train has passed.

"But trying to still perform and show some good shots and hopefully be there on the weekend. To get back to where I was and I always thought I would come back, it was just a matter of when and how."

Discussing his difficulties on the course, Langer added: "So it was a long and tough process. It still is. I'm not 100 percent and maybe I never will be, but walking is still difficult. So I've been riding a cart for the most part - well, walking 18 holes.

"I can walk, I'm okay walking nine holes, but then I get a little fatigued and stiff and all that kind of stuff. It's still a process trying to get better in that department. I'm hoping to play great, and I have to play great to make the cut because the course is so long for me that nothing but great will do it.

"I'm coming in with two and three-irons where the other guys are hitting nine-irons, on every hole, and that's just hard to compete."

Sadly, Langer missed the cut in 2025 and will not feature this year. The last time he reached the final round was in 2020, when he finished tied for 29th.

Langer's fitness remains an ongoing challenge but the golfer acknowledges he has not contemplated retirement. When questioned whether he had a specific age in mind for stepping away, he said: "No, I never had a number in mind.

"I always said the three things that need to be in place, first of all, I've got to be healthy to swing the club the way I want to swing it. Secondly, I've got to enjoy the game and have a desire, and certainly I need to be in contention or playing at a level where I'm not finishing in the bottom third of the field every week.

"I've always said, if those three things are still there, if I have the desire, the health and the success, I probably will continue to play the Champions Tour. When one or two of these things go away, then it's probably time to quit playing.

"Obviously if I'm not healthy, I can't play at all. If I don't have some success, I may not enjoy it as much, and then it's time to pack it in, too."

Langer continues to excel on the senior golfing circuit, securing 12 major championships since joining the tour in 2015. His most recent victory was in November 2024 at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

He finished 14th in this same tournament in 2025 and most recently tied for sixth place at the Cologuard Classic last weekend.