It was not your typical two weeks off for Bernhard Langer, who opted to rest nagging left knee and left elbow injuries instead of venturing to Calgary and Japan for a pair of PGA Tour Champion stops.
How could it be typical?
Not when Hurricane Irma was bearing down on land, which forced the 60-year-old pro, his wife Vikki and 17-year-old son Jason to evacuate their Boca Raton, Florida, home in favour of a drive to North Carolina.
鈥淲e evacuated on [last] Thursday, driving to North Carolina where he stayed with friends,鈥� said Langer. 鈥淏y Sunday it was basically through our area. We got some pictures from some neighbours, who walked around our house.
鈥淣o major damage. We lost some palm trees, a lot of branches. There was some devastation, but we survived without major damages. At that point I could make my plans to come up here, instead of going home had we lost the roof of the house.鈥�
His family drove back and arrived home Tuesday night.
鈥淚 feel rested. I feel good,鈥� Langer said of his venture to Victoria for the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, which begins Friday. 鈥淓verything is good, except it was a little stressful the last four or five days because the initial forecast was it was going to come right on top of us and it was a Category 4 or 5, which doesn鈥檛 sound very good.
鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 been a lot of fun to go through it, but we鈥檙e grateful and blessed we didn鈥檛 get more damage. I feel terrible for the people that did.鈥�
Langer鈥檚 longtime caddy, Terry Holt, was in a similar picture, with his wife driving to Georgia to get out of its path.
鈥淪he was going to head back, then they had tornado issues,鈥� Holt said on Tuesday afternoon, while Langer worked his warm-up on the driving range.
鈥淗is family just returned [Tuesday] night. Same thing, they lost a bunch of trees, but no major damage, no flood damage or broken windows,鈥� Langer said of Holt, who arrived to Victoria earlier to work yardages and walk the course in preparation.
Which brings us back from real-life concerns to the game of golf.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 make it hard to get back into routine. My life was different,鈥� Langer said of the interrupted break. 鈥淚 was in N.C. with friends, which was fun, too 鈥� beautiful weather and a great place to stay, but not the same as being at home. It doesn鈥檛 throw off my golf or routine. It was basically a vacation, but a somewhat stressful vacation, if that makes sense.鈥�
Now it鈥檚 back to business for the German, who together with Holt, has enjoyed another solid year.
鈥淢ore than solid, it鈥檚 been exceptional with three majors. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever won three majors in one season. There were a lot of other good finishes, too. It鈥檚 been every bit as good as years before, if not better,鈥� stressed Langer.
The numbers don鈥檛 lie. He鈥檚 back atop the Charles Schwab Cup standings (having won the last four money titles) with $2,594,635 US already stashed away, including four wins, 12 top-10 finishes and a 68.17 scoring average.
Last year, Langer made $2,697,459 after earning $2,340,288 the year previous. He bettered that mark in 2014 with $3,074,189 as he won five times. In fact, he鈥檚 claimed more than $2 million the last five years on PGA Tour Champions.
His four victories in 2017 include the three majors 鈥� back-to-back victories at the Regions Traditions and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in late May and the Senior Open Championship in Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales in late July.
He gets back to work this week.
鈥淚 knew I had to take one or two weeks off. I don鈥檛 play six in a row, not at my age. I haven鈥檛 done that in 30 years, so why now? Something had to give and it was Calgary and Japan,鈥� said Langer. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to jeopardize the end of the season, which is very important.鈥�
He鈥檚 referring to the Charles Schwab Cup where he has a slight advantage on Scott McCarron, who won in Calgary and finished tied for second in Japan last week.
Langer鈥檚 story is well known, with career earnings at $34,029,670. He is a two-time Masters winner from 1985 and 1993 and was inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. He鈥檚 won all over the world and played in 10 Ryder Cup events and captained another.
At Bear Mountain last season, he finished tied for seventh after a final round 63, that included a score of 28 on the front nine as he flirted with thoughts of a 59.
鈥淣ine holes don鈥檛 establish much. I liked the golf course when I first saw it. I love the area, it鈥檚 beautiful and pretty and the people here try very hard to put on a great tournament,鈥� he said of his return. 鈥淓verything is here, it鈥檚 all convenient. It鈥檚 a long way to come, but once you鈥檙e here it鈥檚 magnificent. It鈥檚 a nice play to be.鈥�
Twitter.com/tc_vicsports
