Bernhard Langer made history at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship as he became the first golfer to win all five Senior Major Championships.
The 59 year old two-time Masters champion went head-to-head with fellow green jacket winner Vijay Singh in the final round at Trump National Golf Club in New York, and a crucial birdie on the par-four 16th hole saw him take a one shot lead with two holes to play.
Singh bogeyed the 17th, giving Langer a two-shot cushion heading down the last, and the German secured his ninth Senior Major Championship victory with par for a total of 18 under.
With this victory, Langer equalled Gary Player’s record of nine Senior Majors, which he set in 1990, just one week after matching Jack Nicklaus’s eight Senior Major titles with his win at the Regions Tradition.
“Coming here I knew my game was in pretty good shape after winning by five shots last week,” said Langer. “But, truly, I didn’t expect to pull it off again and today was a very hard day playing with Vijay. I was fortunate to make a bunch of putts, very important putts, even from 20 feet away, and he missed a couple of shorter ones. It was a very tight race all day long until we got to 16 and 17, and then I got my nose in front by two and never looked back.
“It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for me, and hopefully this is encouraging for the older people that are my age that they can still improve their game, that they can still play good golf and get better, even in their late 50s or early 60s.”
He added: “It means a great deal to win two Majors at age 59,” said Langer. “I’m not sure many people have done that. So I’m excited about where my game is at this point and I’m looking forward to hopefully a couple more good years and then we’ll see where it takes me. I look at exceptional players like Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Bob Charles and Gary Player, those guys have lasted longer than most. I’m trying to be a part of that group, so far I’m doing well, but the future will tell where that goes.”
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez, making his Championship debut, finished in a tie for third place with American Billy Andrade on 13 under par.